Lost Penny
by IceWarrior13
Summary: Transformers: Prime & RWBY. What if Penny Polendina wasn't destroyed that night in the arena? What if a green portal opened, and she fell through time and space into a little town called Jasper, Nevada? I don't own TFP or RWBY. More RWBY characters to be added.
1. Prologue

**_"This is going to be so much fun!"_**

Two bright green eyes snapped open, a girl sitting up. The orange-haired teen wore old-fashioned blouse with short feminine overalls, as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. In her hair was a baby-pink bow, and on her back was a thin, silver backpack.

"H-hello?" The girl asked, seeing that she was in a dark room. She sat on a metal table under a single light on the ceiling, and she couldn't possibly be more confused. "Mr. Ironwood? Father?" The girl gulped. "Pyrrha? Ruby?" A door opened, and the girl grew timid as a man in a blue suit entered. He was on the larger side with dark skin and brown eyes, his face set in what appeared to be a permanent frown.

"Look who's finally awake." The man crossed his arms. The girl wrung her hands.

"P-please, sir." The girl whimpered, green eyes wide. "Where am I?"

"Classified." The man glared. The girl flinched. "So, tell me... _What_ are you, exactly?"

"Huh?" The girl asked. The man threw down a folder, revealing scans of what appeared to be a robot. The girl looked up, panicked.

"Tell me, kid... Who made you? What country?"

" _Country_?"

"Was it China? Japan? What is your purpose?"

"I don't understand." The girl recoiled, scared. "I'm from Atlas!"

" _Atlas_?"

"I was built by my father, Doctor Polendina, and General Ironwood at a facility in Atlas."

"Mind describing this _Atlas_ , kid? Or, what is your _designation_?"

"My _name_ is _Penny_ , sir. I'm Penny Polendina."

"I'm Special Agent William Fowler." The man's eyes and expression had softened by now. The girl saluted.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Special Agent William Fowler!" Penny beamed. Then, she held her hand out, the green image of a planet being projected in the air. "Okay, see that continent up top? That's the kingdom of Atlas. Did your parents and combat school not teach you about the other kingdoms, sir?" Penny looked up at the lack of response. "Sir?"

"That's _another planet_..." Agent Fowler gaped. Penny raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly.

"Huh?"

"What's the name of that planet, Ms. Polendina?"

" _Remnant_ , sir. Didn't you already know that?"

"Ms. Polendina... The planet we are currently on is called _Earth_." Agent Fowler explained. Penny's eyes widened. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"I..." Penny covered her mouth with her right hand, stifling a cry. "I was in the Amity Arena, fighting in the tournament. Pyrrha was getting scared for some reason, and when I tried to finish the fight, there was this black light. My weapons flew back, and there was a green and blue vortex... I don't remember anything after that." Agent Fowler sighed.

"A _space-bridge_... Ms. Polendina, I'm sorry. We have no means or idea as to how we get you home."

"But..." Penny looked down. "My father, my mission. My friend..."

"What mission?"

"My mission is to _protect and save the world_." Penny looked up. "I'm the first synthetic person capable of generating an aura."

"An _aura_?"

"Yes, you see..."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Penny finished explaining all about her home planet, answering every question Agent Fowler had. All about the Faunus, Grimm, kingdoms, Huntsmen and Huntresses, Dust, history, and even a little bit about Penny's backstory.

"So... Most people back home didn't know you were-?"

"No." Penny shook her head. "Even if I was allowed to, I probably wouldn't have told anyone. I didn't want to be treated differently because I was _made_ instead of _born_."

"That's an honest reason, Penny. I respect that... Listen. I have an idea that might help the both of us."

"What, sir?"

"You see, I have a group of _special_ operatives stationed in _Jasper, Nevada_. I can assure you, they are the best of the best... How would you like to join them in defending _our_ world?"

"From what?"

"I'll leave the explanations to their leader. I must say, he's good at them... What do you say?"

"If you think that I can help them and your world, I'll do it." Penny declared. "So... Can I know the names of the people I'll be working with?"

"Well... People might be a slight stretch, Ms. Polendina." Agent Fowler coughed, then focused. "Their names are _Bulkhead, Arcee, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Cliffjumper_ , and _Optimus Prime_."

"Okay... Can you not tell them what I am, sir? I think I want to tell them in my own time."

"Penny, trust me... You'll have absolutely _no_ problem with them knowing the truth about you."

 _ **What have I done..? I don't own** RWBY **or** TFP **. Please read, review, etc. Thanks!**_


	2. A New Addition (Arcee)

We received a call from Agent Fowler one morning.

 _ **:** Prime, I've got something for you six to see. **:**_ Okay, Fowler sounded WAY too happy. _**:** I'm on my way. Expect me in five minutes. **:**_

"What's got him so hyped?" Cliff asked from next to me. I shook my helm, rolling my optics.

"Maybe he lost another tenth of a pound on the _Krispie Kream_ diet." Bulkhead suggested. That got laughs from Cliff, myself, and Bumblebee along with optic-rolls from Ratchet and Optimus.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Five minutes later, Fowler arrived. He stepped out of the elevator, looking back at something.

"It's okay." He promised, revealing that someone was with him. "They're on the same boat." A teenage girl stepped out where everyone could see her, her green eyes wide.

"Whoa."

"Special Agent Fowler." Optimus frowned at the sight of the girl. "What is the meaning of this?"

"It's alright, Prime." Fowler promised, then looked at the girl. "Well, introduce yourself."

"Um..." The girl stepped forward, looking timid. Not the giant alien robots timid, more of an apologetic timid. "Sal-u-tations! My name is Penny Polendina, and... I'm going to be a new addition to your team." The girl flinched, like she expected yelling.

"I didn't tell them, yet." Fowler told her as we gaped. Ratchet was the first to snap out of it.

"WHAT?! Agent Fowler, she's a human child! It's too dangerous! Optimus, you cannot allow this!"

"Agent Fowler, I can not condone the endangerment of a human life." Optimus stated. "What could possibly make you think I would allow this?"

"Tell them." Fowler ordered. Penny took a deep breath, then looked up. I saw her wringing her hands.

"I'm..." Penny looked back. Fowler nodded once, and she looked back. "I'm not exactly a... Real girl."

"What?" I asked. Penny looked down at her hands.

"Penny is from another world, the first of her kind." Fowler explained. "She's a robot with a soul... A manmade wonder akin to Cybertronians."

"So... She has a spark?" Bulkhead asked, optics wide. Fowler nodded, Penny looking down.

"Preposterous!" Ratchet shouted. Penny winced.

"It's true." She whispered. Ratchet looked at her.

"What?!"

"Eep!" Penny hid behind Fowler, scared. I noticed something...

"She's not human." I pointed. "Look at her eyes."

" _Camera shutters._ " Bumblebee buzzed, tilting his helm to the left. "Cool." A small giggle was heard.

"Thanks." Penny peeked out from behind Fowler. "Father designed them. They're how I can see in color and have a (literal) photographic memory."

"Wait, Penny... You can understand _Buzz-'Bot_?" Fowler asked. Penny nodded, frowning.

"Can't you?"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Over the next few days, we got used to having Penny around. She tended to stick close to Bumblebee, who immediately accepted her. Cliff also spent a lot of time with the little 'Bot, and even Bulkhead warmed up to her. The rest of us didn't know what to think.

"Of course, those three would let her join their gang." Ratchet scoffed. "Who knows what trouble she'll help cause?" I managed a chuckle.

"Nothing more than their usual." I assured, then heard laughter. "On second thought, we're scrapped."

"Arcee, it may be best for you to go and assess the situation." Optimus gave a small smirk. I glared.

"Fine... I'll go check on them."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I walked down a hallway, then poked my helm into the training room. Bulkhead and Cliff were telling some war stories, Bumblebee listening with crossed arms while Penny watched the two mechs with wonder.

"And that's how Wheeljack won the Battle of Darkmount Pass." Bulkhead finished, and Penny clapped. "What did ya think, kid?"

"That was wonderful! One Autobot taking down all of those Decepticons?! It reminds me of this time I fought off the White Fang and five ships at the Vale docks..." Penny noticed the stares. "You want to hear the story?"

"Frag, yeah!" Cliff pumped his fist. Penny laughed.

"Okay!" The girl leapt down from 'Bee's rotator-cup, visibly getting ready to tell the tale. "It was nighttime in the kingdom of Vale. My friend, Ruby, and I were searching the streets for our missing comrade, Blake. Then, there was a loud noise, and smoke billowed in the direction of the docks. Ruby immediately knew that Blake was in trouble, and we went to help her. Arriving, we saw the crime-lord known as Roman Torchwick aiming his weapon at my other friend, Sun, while Blake watched helplessly. Ruby intervened, but Torchwick shot at her. My friend was thrown back, and I got angry."

"Here comes the boom." Bulkhead smiled at the thought. I entered the room, listening closely.

"I stepped to the edge of the rooftop, Ruby warning me against attacking. I guess she thought I wasn't good enough to fight... I activated my weapons and leapt down, easily taking out the foot soldiers. When three bullhead-ships arrived, I deflected the Dust-rounds fired at me and sliced two in half, pulling the third down with my weapons... Two ships got away, but the men I'd defeated were arrested, no casualties."

" _Wow._ " Bumblebee stared. " _What are your weapons?_ "

"All in good time, Bumblebee." Penny winked. "I mean, would it be best if I showed you now, or if I saved your life?" 'Bee pouted, but he didn't argue.

"Well, that's a first." I commented. The others noticed me, and Penny waved excitedly.

"Hey, Arcee!" She beamed. I waved, then crossed my arms.

"What's going on?"

"We were telling old war stories." Cliff explained. "Turns out, the kid has plenty of her own."

"Yep!" Penny smiled. "I was built _combat-ready_!"

"Do you have to shout?" I asked. "I can't see how everyone's audial sensors aren't bleeding..." Penny's face fell.

"What do you mean? I always talk like this!"

"What were you, raised in a..?" I noticed Penny's face. "Penny?"

"I-I need to be alone." Penny left the room, and I got a punched to the arm. I looked up at Cliff.

"What?!"

"If you had taken the time to get to know the kid, you'd know why she is the way she is." My partner frowned. Bumblebee nodded, then went to go after her. Bulk stopped him.

"You know she'll want to be alone." The Wrecker warned. I raised an optic-brow, confused.

"What's going on?"

" _Penny spent her whole life in a lab or surrounded by guards._ " Bumblebee explained, sad. " _She wasn't even allowed to go outside until a few months ago (her time). She'd never had friends before, or learned how to act around people... She had no idea that anything she was doing was strange._ "

"Well then, maybe it's a good thing that I said-"

"'Cee, the kid has the spark and mind of a _sparkling_." Bulkhead shook his helm. "I don't think she'll be thanking you for what you said." I wanted to retort, but I couldn't do it. I hadn't taken any time to get to know Penny. They had.

"I'm going to find her." I sighed. Then, I walked off.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I found Penny sitting at the edge of the mesa, hugging her knees to her chest and watching the sunset.

"Penny?" I asked, walking over. She didn't look back.

"When I was first created, my father told me that sometimes, our voice could be our shield and our weapon." The girl seemed to shrink. "I guess I took it a bit too literally."

"Penny, I'm sorry." I sat down next to the girl. "I didn't know."

"It's okay." Penny looked down at the desert. "I'm not programmed to hold grudges... Thanks, Father." We both managed small chuckles at that. "Jasper reminds me of the kingdom of _Vacuo_ , back on _Remnant_."

"It's a desert?"

"Yes... I came from _Atlas_ , where there's a lot of snow. This is the first desert I've seen in person. Sun told me about Vacuo once, so that helped."

" _Sun_?"

"He was one of Team RWBY's friends, and we talked a few times. I thought of him like a goofy older brother."

"He sounds nice... What's this _Team RWBY_?"

"Oh... Team RWBY was a team of Huntresses from _Vale_. I was close with one of them." Penny smiled wistfully. " _Weiss_ was a heiress who started out crabby and rude at first, but she was actually very caring and nice. _Blake_ was a Faunus who used to be in a terrorist group called the White Fang, but she turned away from them to become a Huntress on the side of good. _Yang_ was very strong and protective, and she never let anyone see how broken she really was... _Ruby_ was my best and only real friend. She was the leader, and though she was only fifteen, she was wise. She learned the truth about me and didn't care... I miss her, and my father."

"I know... Maybe someday, if we get our planet back, we can take a ship and find your home."

"It's not that easy... The last thing I remember was what I thought would be my death." Penny looked down. "They all think I'm dead." My spark broke for the little femme. I gently placed a servo on her shoulder. "Thank you."

"Any time." I promised. "You're not the only one with demons."

"They hurt, don't they?"

"All the time."

 ** _Aw... Feel free to leave comments expressing your hatred of me. Up next, Ratchet and Penny talk, and after that some Optimus-Penny/Father-Daughter bonding time! Then, we get to the show. I OWN NOTHING! Please read, review,_** _ **check out my other stories,**_ ** _etc. Thanks!_**


	3. The Axe (Ratchet)

While the others were on patrol, I was stuck at Base with Penny. I turned the TV on, and she was no problem. It was almost funny, seeing her reactions to various Earth-things. Then...

"Um, Ratchet?"

"What?" I asked, absentminded as I examined something under my microscope. I didn't notice the fear in Penny's voice.

"I'm not sure I should be watching this movie."

"Why not?"

"There's a man with an axe chasing some teenagers."

"I'm sure it's fine."

"If you say so..." Penny went quiet. Then, I was jolted out of my work to the sound of a scream. I looked up as a flash of orange, green, and black darted behind the yellow couch.

"Penny?" I asked. At no reply, I went over and looked. Penny was on her knees, curled up with her servos over her audial sensors and optics squeezed shut. I looked at the screen to see a man with a bloodied axe. "Optimus will have my helm... Penny?" I poked the girl's back, and she made a small squeak of fear, no other response. "All of this over a tacky movie... Penny!" The girl screamed and scrambled away, hugging her knees to her chest and staring unblinkingly at nothing, terrified.

"Blood, blood, blood..." Penny kept whimpering. Despite my skepticism towards the girl, I felt bad for what had happened.

"Penny, it's just a movie. That maniac isn't real." I went back to my work, hoping she had believed me.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

"RATCHET!" A voice snapped. I flinched slightly. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE KID?!" I turned to Cliffjumper, acting oblivious.

"What do you mean?"

"Just look at her!" Cliffjumper gestured. I realized that Penny hadn't moved for several hours. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" I scoffed.

"Please! Why would I do anything to the little-?" I saw the others glaring at me as well. " _Child_?"

"Ratchet, what happened?" Optimus crossed his arms. I laughed somewhat nervously.

"When I turned the television on, I accidentally turned on a channel that happened to be having a horror movie marathon." I admitted. "A rather graphic one, at that... And, Penny happened to see a maniac chop some human teenagers to pieces."

"RATCHET!" Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Cliffjumper, and even Optimus snarled. I winced.

"She's going to have nightmares for the rest of her life!" Bulkhead shouted. "And she's never going to age! Thanks a lot, _Doc-'Bot_!"

" _She's just a **sparkling**!_ " Bumblebee agreed. " _It's like **me** watching a horror movie! Except, she's **younger**! Like the equivalent of a **six year-old** human! What the frag?!_ "

"It's not my fault!" I argued. "I'm not the one who spends all my free time on that device!"

"So much blood..." Penny gripped the sides of her helm. I gulped as the glares grew venomous.

"She'll be fine." I shrugged it off. "She's a big femme. She can handle it." Penny hugged her knees and rocked back and forth.

"Blood, blood, blood..."

"Yeah." Cliffjumper glared. "She seems to be really good at handling it." Arcee walked over, reaching out to the little femme gently, expression full of pity.

"Penny?" Arcee asked. Penny screamed and recoiled, eyes snapping open and scrambling away from Arcee's servo.

"No, no, NO! Leave me alone!" Penny begged. Optimus glared at me, and I chuckled nervously.

"Uh..."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

That night, I woke from recharge to hear screaming.

"Great." I muttered, then stood and left my quarters. I walked down the hall and entered Penny's quarters to find the girl huddled in a corner again, helm on her knees and sobbing. I shook my helm, going over and awkwardly sitting down next to the tiny femme. "Mind telling me what's wrong?"

"You said _it would be fine_!" Penny cried. "It **wasn't** fine!"

"Puh-lease." I scoffed. "It's not like you haven't seen worse!"

"The _Grimm_ don't bleed, I've never hurt or seen anyone get hurt, I don't bleed, and no one gets hurt in the _Vytal Festival Tournament_! I've never seen blood before!"

"Well..." Okay, now I was starting to feel REALLY bad. "I... Um... Seeing others get hurt is something you must expect in life, Penny. You won't always be able to stop it or look away. In war, each side wants to become stronger than their opponent, to cause the most damage. Everyone wants the better weapon, and that weapon will hurt people."

"But..." Penny looked down. "That makes me the _axe_."

"What?"

"If the movie is the _war_ , the murderer is the _stronger opponent_ , the victim is the _weaker opponent_ , and the axe is the _weapon that was meant to win the war_... I am the axe." Penny looked down. "I get it, now. I wasn't just scared of the movie, or the blood. I was scared because I knew that I related to a main character... Just one on the wrong side."

"You were designed as a weapon?" I asked softly. Penny nodded.

"I'm the bomb they'd drop on the bad guys. The hidden doomsday device... I may be on a new planet, but nothing's changed."

"Tell me about it." I rolled my optics. "I'm lightyears from home, and it's like I never left Cybertron."

"You were always a _cranky, wrench-throwing medic_?"

"Well... Yes."

"Good."

"What?"

"Good, Ratchet. Imagining you any other way than like this would probably fry my processor... Besides, it's funny seeing you yell at Bulkhead. _I needed that!_ "

"Heh... Maybe having you around won't be so bad."

"Maybe."

 ** _Aw... So, Penny survived her first horror movie and Ratchet proved to be a real softie. Next: over-protective Optimus and the death of Cliffjumper. Why..? I own nothing. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	4. Shattered Like Glass (Penny)

A day at Autobot Outpost Omega One went something like this: 

I'd wake up at the same time as when the Autobots emerged from recharge, and I'd leave my quarters. I'd meet Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead in the training room, and we'd do some training.

"HOW?!" Cliffjumper asked. I had stopped one of Bulkhead's wrecking balls (flying at me at full speed) with my bare hands. I smiled.

"Don't know." I admitted, then smirked slightly. "Who's next?" Bumblebee turned and ran for his life. "Guess it's you, Cliffjumper."

"Oh, Primus..." Cliffjumper did what almost looked like the _Sign of the Cross_ , then yelled and charged.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Next, we'd exchange some stories and laugh. Arcee occasionally joined us for this time.

"So, I used my weapons to raise the boulders into the air." I continued. "Russell and Sky were screaming, and I decided to end the fight. I sent both boulders slamming into the ground, single-handedly winning the fight."

"WHAT ARE YOU?!" Cliffjumper asked again. I laughed.

"I'm the first synthetic-person capable of generating an aura." I replied. Bulkhead and Bumblebee laughed.

"BURN!" Bulkhead called. I giggled, and Arcee discretely offered a servo for a high-five.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Next, I would scan my hard-drives for stuff from Remnant, downloading some stuff onto an iPhone (Fowler gave it to me, and it had the most storage space possible for the model). I downloaded images from my memory, and music. The music was honestly the best part, my new Autobot friends agreeing.

"Play _I Burn_ again!" Bulkhead pleaded. I rolled my eyes.

"You sound just like _Yang_..."

"The crazy girl who trashed the nightclub?" Cliffjumper asked. I nodded, playing the song.

"This was her favorite... And I think you can all see why Bulkhead likes it." I looked over at the green mech. "Yang would make a great _Wrecker_."

"I can tell!"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Next, I would try to spend some quality time with the two Autobots I was having trouble forming bonds with: Optimus and Ratchet. After the horror-movie incident, it was just Optimus.

"Can I come with you on patrol?" I asked the Autobot leader. I'd always ask, and this was always the answer:

"Remain at Base with Ratchet in case we require backup." Optimus replied, then transformed into a truck and drove off with the others. I sighed, looking down. Ratchet shook his helm.

"Even I thought that was harsh." The medic stated. I looked back, finally needing to vent.

"Why doesn't he trust me, Ratchet? Does he think I'm too tiny, too weak?"

"I'm not certain... I will speak with him when he returns. Feel free to hide and listen, if it will ease your-"

"You're still trying to make up for the horror movie thing?"

"It's that obvious?"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

That night, I listened as Ratchet confronted Optimus.

"Optimus... Penny has been distressed for some time."

"Over what?"

"Well... You are the only one left giving her the _cold shoulder_ , so to speak. Why have you been avoiding her attempts to get to know you? I know you aren't the most _social_ mech, but some of your interactions were just plain _mean_. That's coming from me, so you know it's bad."

"I do not mean to be harsh, but I fear that I would not be able to protect our smaller ally if I encountered the Decepticons. I will not have her death on my conscience, old friend."

"So, that's it?" I stepped out. "You think I'm weak? That I can't fight? I was trained to take on monsters, to destroy armies! I'm not made of _glass_!" With that, I stormed off.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I stood on top of the Mesa, staring at the moon. I missed my moon, how it would break apart and come back together. This moon went dark. I hated it. My processor wandered back to everything Optimus said, and I gritted my teeth, turning around.

"You think I'm weak?" I asked an invisible Autobot. "Think this!" I whipped out my swords and sent them flying, slicing a boulder to pieces. I put my blades away and punched the pieces into shrapnel as they fell. My anger slightly vented, I went back to the ledge and sat down. I remembered...

' _"I'm combat-ready!"_

 _"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."_ '

"Everyone thinks I'm weak." I murmured, looking down. "Even..."

' _"Penny, stop!"_ '

"Ruby." I let a few silent tears fall. "Why doesn't anyone trust me?" I didn't move that night.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

In the morning, I was still curled up at the edge of the Mesa. I had my knees hugged to my chest, and I stared at the desert below.

" _Looks like someone had a **temper-tantrum**._ " Bumblebee sat down next to me, smiling. I didn't look up. " _Penny, what's wrong?_ "

"I want to be alone." I replied, closing my optics. I could sense Bumblebee looking around.

" _Seriously... How did you do this? It's incredible._ "

"It's nothing." I scoffed. "I've done far worse... Why doesn't Optimus trust me, Bumblebee?"

" _I told you, it's just 'Bee... I think he's just scared for you. Optimus has always been concerned for all of us, even seasoned fighters like Bulk, Arcee, and Cliff. And he looks at you, sees how you look so tiny and defenseless... I guess he's just getting used to the idea that you're-_ "

"Combat-ready?"

" _Yeah._ "

"But I am! I just want a chance to prove I can do this! I may look like a teenager, but I'm-"

" _Six._ "

" _Five_ , Bumblebee! Get your facts straight... I am programmed with battle strategies, self-defense forms, combat and military training. I am capable of defending myself and this world... I don't want anyone to think I can't."

" _I know you can._ " Bumblebee gently used his servo to ruffle my hair. I laughed, feeling better.

"You're the best, _'Bee_."

" _Yes! You called me **'Bee**! We are officially friends!_ "

"Really?!"

" _Yep!_ "

"Sensational!"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I walked down a hallways as the Autobots prepared to go on patrol. Leaning against the wall, I watched the first four leave through the ground-bridge. Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper... My focus went to Optimus as he looked back, a small smile forming on his faceplate. The Prime transformed, and his shotgun door opened.

"Aren't you coming?" Optimus asked. I slowly grinned.

"Yes!" I ran over and hopped in, fastening my seatbelt and closing the door. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"So, am I forgiven?"

"Yep!"

"That easily?"

"I'm not programmed to hold a grudge. I get sad sometimes, but I move on so as not to complicate encounters on the battlefield."

"Thus, you are the most forgiving being in existence."

"Pretty much! ... Is that a bad thing?" There was a moment of silence, then...

"No." With that, we left Base for patrol.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

A few days later, we got a frantic call from Arcee. Cliffjumper had found some Energon, and the Decepticons had found him! We arrived by ground-bridge, only to find...

"An untapped Energon deposit." Optimus realized. I crossed my arms, frowning slightly.

"What's left of it." I confirmed. Bumblebee scooped me up.

"The first Decepticon activity in three years." Ratchet commented. Optimus looked at him.

"That we know of. If they're scouting for Energon, they may be preparing for his return." Everyone climbed down into the pit, and Arcee saw...

"No." The femme picked up Cliffjumper's horn. Optimus glared.

"Ratchet, can you track his position?" The medic checked his arm scanner, and his face fell.

"No..." Ratchet stared. "Cliffjumper's life-signal just went offline." My eyes widened, and my world became an oblivion. I nearly fell into stasis

"No, he can't be gone." I murmured. "He can't be..." Bumblebee placed a finger on my shoulder, and I hugged it tightly, letting some tears fall. "Cliffjumper."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We returned to Base and held a funeral for Cliffjumper.

"We must not allow our anger over the loss of Cliffjumper to impair our judgement. As of today, only we five Autobots remain in this Earth." Optimus began, stoic. "We owe it to ourselves, to the memory of Cyberton, to any Autobots in any galaxy seeking safe harbor, to humankind, and we owe it to the memory of our fallen comrade to survive." Arcee laid Cliff's horn down, and I tried to hide the fact that a tear raced down my face. Then, Arcee turned away. "Arcee?"

"If Cliff's gone, standing around here, sulking, won't bring him back." The femme sighed. "So, unless anyone minds, I think I'll get back to protecting humankind." We watched as Arcee transformed and drove off.

"Optimus, helping humans will only result in more tragedy." Ratchet looked down sadly.

"Your opinion is noted." Optimus replied. I kneeled down and started piling rocks over the horn, giving the last remaining fragment of Cliffjumper a proper burial.

"I'll beat the Decepticons." I promised. "And I'll protect the others, for you... I promise."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I entered Base and sat down on the yellow staircase, knowing my time alone was short. I hugged my knees and burst into tears, properly sobbing for the first time ever. Finally, I dried my tears and stood, going to my room. I needed to rest, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I laid down in my bed, looking up at the ceiling. Then, I closed my optics and entered recharge.

 ** _The Feels Train hits a cow. Sorry! Next time: Jack, Miko, and Raf arrive! I don't own anything! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	5. New Friends & Band Practice (Jack)

After a crazy two days of giant robots, I rode on a motorcycle (Arcee) with Miko towards a mesa in the middle of the desert. A door opened in the side of the rock formation, and we drove down a tunnel to see two more giant robots waiting. We left our vehicles, and they transformed.

"I thought there were two." A red and white male, who sounded older, frowned slightly. Arcee glared.

"Haven't you heard?" She asked coyly, placing a hand on her hip. "Humans multiply." Raf looked over at Miko, a hand out.

"I'm _Raf_."

"I'm _Miko_!" Miko exclaimed, running up to the green robot. "Who are you?!" The green robot was obviously taken aback by her enthusiasm.

" _Bulkhead_."

"Are you a car?" Miko asked. "I bet you're a truck! A monster truck! Do you like heavy metal?! How much do you weigh?! Ever use a wrecking ball for a punching bag?!" I rolled my eyes.

"So, if you guys are robots..." Raf began cautiously. "Who made you?" Red/White scoffed.

"Puh-lease..." We all looked up as the ground shook, and a red and blue robot approached.

"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet _Cybertron_ , also known as _Autobots_."

"Why are you here?" I asked, feeling even more scared. Aliens...

"To protect your planet from the _Decepticons_." The giant red and blue robot, who I guessed was Optimus Prime, replied. Arcee sighed.

"The jokers who tried to bump us off last night."

"Okay..." I frowned slightly. "Why are they here?" Optimus kneeled, and I backed off, still wary.

"A fair question, Jack." The huge robot admitted. "In part, they are here because our planet is uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war."

"Why were you fighting a war?" Raf asked innocently. I sighed, ready for an alien lecture.

"Foremost, over control of our world's supply of _Energon_." Optimus stated. "The fuel and lifeblood of Autobots and Decepticons alike. The combat was fierce, and endured for centuries. In the beginning, I fought alongside one whom I considered a brother... But in war, ideals can be corrupted. And it was thus that _Megatron_ lost his way."

"Is there gonna be a quiz?" Miko yawned, and we all glared at her. This was a war, after all. I looked up at Optimus, still frowning.

"So, what does Megatron, or any of this, have to do with us?"

"Megatron has not been seen or heard from in some time. But if his return is imminent, as I fear, it could be catastrophic... Since you now know of our existence, I fear that as of last night, the Decepticons know of yours."

"Got it. So, if we spot any strange vehicles, call 911." I summarized, scared. "Can we go now?"

"Are you insane?!" Miko asked, eyes wide and staring. "I'm living the dream here in _'Bot-Swana_ , and I will not allow you or anyone else to shatter it!"

"It is best that you four remain under our watch." Optimus quickly intervened. "At least, until we can determine our enemy's intentions."

"Optimus." Red/White spoke up, not happy. "With all due respect, the human children are in as much danger here as anywhere."

"Children?" I asked. I was seventeen, not three.

"They have no protective shell. If they get underfoot, they will go..." Red/White stomped for emphasis. "Squish."

"Then, for the time being, Ratchet, we must watch where we step." Optimus smiled slightly. An alarm went off, and I immediately freaked out.

"What's that?!" The yellow Autobot replied, buzzing instead of speaking. Raf translated.

"Proximity sensor." The little boy explained, pointing up. "Someone's up top."

"It's Agent Fowler." Ratchet muttered in annoyance. I got confused.

"I thought we were the only humans who knew about you guys."

"Special Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world." Optimus explained. "As he tends to only visit when there are issues, it may be best if you do not meet him at this time." We hid, and we heard someone fearlessly scolding the Autobots for the incident that caused our meeting.

"And where is _the kid_?!" Fowler asked, glaring. Optimus sighed.

"Still mourning... You know that she and _Cliffjumper_ were close."

"Right, right..." Fowler sighed, then glared once again. "Do us both a favor, and handle this, Prime. Under the radar... Or I will." Fowler left, and we exited our hiding spot.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

The Autobots left in a hurry, leaving us with Ratchet when they went looking for someone called Cliffjumper. They used something called a ground bridge to go there, and Ratchet started getting on everyone's nerves with his dislike of humanity and distrust of us and our technology. Couldn't blame him, really. We were pathetic compared to the Autobots on all counts. The others returned, followed by a blue explosion, and no Cliffjumper. I dragged Miko and Raf off to the side.

"Arcee, what did you see?" Optimus asked quietly. Arcee looked heartbroken by something.

"Not Cliff... At least... Not anymore." Arcee choked. "He was mutated, butchered like something from those 'Con experiments during the war." Arcee fell, nearly passing out. Bumblebee buzzed, worried about her. The female Autobit raised a hand in protest to him coming closer. "I'm fine, just dizzy." Miko, Raf, and I just stared in shock...

"Robots who get _dizzy_?"

"Robots with _emotions_?"

"Robots... Who can _die_."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Over the next few days, we got to know our Autobot guardians. As I got to know Arcee, I realized that she'd been hurting and putting up a façade. There was more to her than meets the eye. Then, one afternoon...

"I think it's time you meet the final member of Team Prime." Optimus led us down a hallway. "I caution you: she is very shy, so do not scare her."

"What happens if we do?" Raf asked. The other Autobots were with us, and Ratchet glared.

"And, they were never seen again." He commented. It dawned on us what he meant...

"Got it." Miko nodded shakily. We came to a door, and Arcee knocked on it gently, expression soft.

" _Penny_?" My guardian asked. "We have some people who want to meet you." No reply. "They're _kids_ , Penny. Seventeen, sixteen, and twelve." It was still silent. "I know you're torn up about Cliffjumper. I am, too... But you need to snap out of this funk. Please." Soft footsteps were heard from behind the door. The metal barrier shifted, and two green eyes peered out. A girl, my age, looked around tiredly. From me, to Miko, then to Raf.

"It's good to see you are alright." Ratchet managed a small smile, then scowled. "I assume you're wondering how these children came into contact with us?" The girl nodded.

"One of the many questions I'm asking myself right now, yes."

"'Cons in Jasper." Arcee explained. "We had to blow cover."

"Well, I guess I should introduce myself to them..." Penny gave a small smile. " _Sal-U-tations_! My name is _Penny Polendina_! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Um... Hi?" I greeted, really confused. "I'm _Jack_."

"I'm _Raf_."

"I'm _Miko_!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" We all paused for a moment.

"You already said that." I pointed out. The redhead considered it.

"So, I did!" Penny laughed. We slowly smiled, and Miko began rapidly asking questions.

"Who are you?! You're a human?! How do you know the Autobots?!"

"I'm a special-tactics operative assigned here by Agent Fowler. It's my job to pull a _Deus Ex Machina_ whenever the Autobots require my assistance."

"Cool." Raf grinned, then frowned. "But, you're just a _kid_."

"Well..." Penny smiled mysteriously. "I guess there's more to me than meets the eye."

"That's not _foreshadowing_ or anything." I commented. Penny giggled, stepping fully out of her room.

"Well? I guess I'm going to be protecting you, too!" Penny beamed. "So, we might as well get to know each other! I hope we can be _friends_!"

"I like her!" Miko declared. "You can hang with me anytime, _Pen_! You like music?!" I sighed as Penny and Miko started talking about music.

"What just happened..?"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Bulkhead and Penny were left to babysit Raf, Miko, and I. I groaned as Miko set up her music stuff, ready for pain.

"What's on the activities list?" Bulkhead asked. A piercing sound filled Base, Miko having finished set-up.

"How about band practice?"

"But we're not a band." Raf whimpered, hands over his ears. Was he scared of Miko?

"Why so antisocial?" Miko inquired. "Come on, Raf! You play anything?"

" _Keyboard_?" Raf held his laptop up. Miko's face lit up.

"Laptops and samples." She remarked, smiling. "Good. Jack?"

"I sometimes mess around on the _harmonica_."

"Do I look like I do _country_?! Just cover yourself in fake blood and jump around, screaming... Bulkhead, percussion! We'll go for a big, industrial sound! D.I.Y: we're a band!" Miko grinned. "You just got to learn the songs! This one's a ballad: _My Fist, Your Face_."

"Miko?" Penny asked timidly. "May I audition for a place on your band?" Miko's eyes lit up.

"You play?"

"Yes, I play most instruments, and sing, and dance." Thank God! Penny had bought some time for our ears to recover! But was she that good..?

"Then, go ahead!" Miko gestured. Penny smiled, then went over to the computer and plugged an iPod in, typing something and setting a timer. Penny stepped forward, taking Miko's guitar and a pick, looking down as the music began playing rapidly. Then...

" ** _They see you as small and helpless,_**

 ** _They see you as just a child!_**

 ** _Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild!_** " Penny began, smirking. All of us gaped, eyes/optics wide.

" ** _Prepare for your greatest moments!_**

 ** _Prepare for your finest hour!_**

 ** _The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower!_**

 ** _We are lightning..._**

 ** _Straying from the thunder!_**

 ** _Miracles of ancient wonder!_** " Okay, awesome!

" ** _This will be the day we've waited for!_**

 ** _This will be the day we open up the door..._**

 ** _I don't wanna hear your absolution!_**

 ** _Hope you're ready for a revolution!_**

 ** _Welcome to a world of new solutions!_**

 ** _Welcome to a world of bloody evolution..._**

 ** _In time, your heart will open minds!_**

 ** _A story will be told!_**

 ** _And victory is in a simple soul!_** " Forget being part of the band! If Penny was the lead, I was SO in!

" ** _Your world needs a great defender!_**

 ** _Your world's in the way of harm!_**

 ** _You want a romantic life, a fairytale that's full of charm!_**

 ** _Beware that the light is fading!_**

 ** _Beware if the dark returns!_**

 ** _This world's unforgiving, even brilliant lights will cease to burn!_**

 ** _Legends scatter..._**

 ** _Day and night will sever!_**

 ** _Hope and peace are lost forever!_** " Who wrote this song?!

" ** _This will be the day we've waited for!_**

 ** _We are lightning..._**

 ** _Welcome to a world of new solutions!_**

 ** _This will be the day we've waited for!_**

 ** _This will be the day we open up the door..._**

 ** _I don't wanna hear your absolution!_**

 ** _Hope you're ready for a revolution!_**

 ** _Welcome to a world of new solutions!_**

 ** _Welcome to a world of bloody evolution..._**

 ** _In time, your heart will open minds!_**

 ** _A story will be told!_**

 ** _and victory is in a simple soul!_** " Penny bowed. Everyone stared. "So, am I in the band?"

"SUH-WEET!" Miko cheered. "You're SO in!" Suddenly, the proximity alarm began blaring.

"Whoa, whoa, who!" Bulkhead stopped Miko from making any more music. She pouted.

"Come on!" Miko sighed. "You can't handle raw power?"

"Proximity sensor!" Bulkhead warned. "Quick, hide!" We hid behind my ped just as that Agent Fowler entered. Penny saluted, but Fowler glared.

"Prime!"

"Agent Fowler, he's not here. Nobody's here, except me, of course."

"I'm here!" Penny corrected, smiling brightly.

"Good to see ya, _kid_. You had me worried for a bit." Fowler managed a small grin, then glared at me. "Well? Where did he go? Wait, don't tell me... He's out _pancaking a mini-mall_!" Penny giggled at that. "Now, I don't know what language you 'Bots speak on your planet, but Prime promised he would handle the Decepticons, and blowing a crater in the middle of Nebraska is not what the word handle means in English! So, you tell Prime-" A few notes played. Miko had tried to get her guitar, and Fowler frowned at the setup. "Since when are you 'Bots electric?"

"Um..." Penny wrung her hands. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Hey." Myself and the other two walked out. "How you doing?"

"Contact with civilians?!" Fowler asked, angry. "Team Prime has really gone off-book this time! Wait, don't tell me! You're running a _daycare center_!" Bulkhead cringed.

"Okay..."

"Yeah, we're _interns_!" I lied. The others nodded.

" _Student_ interns." Raf corrected, playing along.

"Earning extra credit in _auto-shop_." Jack continued.

" _Robotics_." Miko corrected. Fowler looked at Penny.

" _Hired hands_?" The girl tried. Fowler began walking down the staircase, looking pissed.

"Okay, let's move! I'm taking all three of you into federal custody! It's for your own protection." Bulkhead stepped between Fowler and us.

" _We're_ protecting them."

"Is that so?" Fowler asked. "Well, maybe you could explain that to my superiors at the _Pentagon_!" Fowler grabbed a phone, and Bulk panicked.

"Don't use that phone, it's..." He broke the phone. "Out of order."

"This isn't over, _Big-Butt_!" Fowler looked livid. "Not by a long shot!" With that, Fowler departed.

"Well..." Penny gulped. "This is bad."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Another alarm went off.

"My ears..." Raf seemed to be affected negatively by the noise, and Penny winced slightly.

"It's an SOS." Bulkhead realized. "From Fowler." The green mech hit some buttons, and the noise stopped. We exchanged glances.

"Did you trace it?" Raf asked. Bulkhead sighed, checking the screen.

"Location scan was incomplete." He answered. "Oh, well."

" _Oh, well_?" I asked. "Seriously?" Bulkhead looked back.

"Fowler's a _jerk_."

"Whoa!" My eyes widened. "Whether you like the guy or not, the Decepticons may have him."

"And.." Raf paled. "Agent Fowler knows your location... _Our_ location."

"And did we not just witness how fast Fowler backs down from a 'Bot?" Miko asked. "The 'Cons will totally make him squeal."

"But we lost the transmission." Bulkhead protested, glaring at us. "Fowler could be anywhere."

"Maybe I can narrow it down." Raf spoke up, holding his laptop and sitting. "About five years ago, the government started microchipping their agents. You know, like owners do with their pets." We all stared at him as he started typing. "What? I saw it on TV. Anyway, if I can hack into the Fed's mainframe, maybe I can pinpoint Fowler's coordinates."

"You know how to hack?" Miko asked, surprised by this. "But you're like _two_ years-old!"

" _Twelve_." Raf corrected, shoving his glasses up as they slid down. "And a quarter."

"You must be very smart, Rafael." Penny beamed. Raf smiled.

"It's just _Raf_."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Raf pinpointed the coordinates, and Bulkhead typed them into the ground bridge controls.

"You're going?" I asked as Penny walked over to the bridge. The redhead looked back, frowning.

"Is there a problem?"

"Yeah!" I frowned. "It's not safe!" Penny looked too small, innocent, and defenseless...

"Jack, don't worry. I'm _combat-ready_." The girl smiled. Bulkhead scooped her up, left me in charge, and ran through the ground-bridge. Then, I realized that Miko was missing.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Raf and I leapt out of the portal and Vehicons on top of the Nemesis raised their weapons.

"Scrap!" Miko, Penny, and Bulkhead all said at once. Bulkhead rescued us, driving all four humans out of harm's way. He let us out behind a boulder and left Penny to watch us. Miko went missing... Again!

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Two Vehicons found us, and Penny stepped forward, glaring.

"You will not hurt them, Decepticons." The redhead stated. I honestly freaked out a little bit.

"Penny, get back!" I shouted. Then, Penny somehow caught a Decepticon's punch and pushed him back into the second one, buying time. "How..?"

"I am currently utilizing prototype technology." Penny explained. Little did we know, it was only a half-truth.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Arcee and Bumblebee arrived, bringing us with them on the Nemesis. Penny protected us while the Autobots rescued Fowler. We got home to find Ratchet injured and both he and Optimus exhausted from a battle. Miko turned to Ratchet, looking concerned.

"What happened to you guys, anyway?" All of us wanted the answer to that one, seeing the duo's condition.

"We engaged an army of undead Cybertronian warriors." Ratchet answered, wincing at the pain in his arm. We all stared.

" _Zombies_?" Miko asked. "You fought zombies, and I missed it?!" Penny also looked like she was upset to have missed that fight.

"Bulkhead." Optimus frowned. "You exercised extremely poor judgement in allowing the humans to accompany you." Bulkhead sighed, looking at us and Agent Fowler.

"It won't happen again. I promise."

"But it wasn't Bulkhead's fault!" Miko spoke up. Penny nodded in agreement, placing a hand over her heart. The green Autobot looked over.

"Miko, please!"

"And look!" Miko held her phone up, smiling. " _Recon_!" Optimus glanced at the device, deciding it was importance. I finally snapped.

"Miko, Raf was almost killed! This isn't a game! When are you gonna get that through your thick skull?!"

"We were all almost killed, Jack. You, me, Raf, Penny, even _them_!"

"Well, if this was just an average day with the Autobots, then I don't want to be a part of it. Not anymore."

"Jack." Optimus sighed, looking at us sadly. "Putting you in harm's way was never our intent. However, it is no longer the safety of you three that is at risk, but the safety of all humankind." Okay, that was bad. "We will respect your decision if you wish to leave."

"No point in long _goodbyes_." Ratchet opened the ground bridge. "Here's the door."

"Come on, Raf."

"I'll be okay, Jack." Raf promised. "See you at school."

"Sure thing." I looked at Arcee. "I know, I know. You don't exist." Arcee smiled slightly.

"Don't make me hunt you down."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

After everyone else had tried to get me back at Base, there was a knock on my front door. Mom answered, and a smile lit up her face.

"Hello, there." Mom greeted. "And who might you be?"

"My name is Penny Polendina." A timid voice greeted. "I was wondering if I could talk to Jack."

"Of course. Can I get you anything, Penny?"

"No thank you, _ma'am_." I looked up as Penny walked into the kitchen alone, frowning slightly from my seat at the kitchen table. "Can we talk?" I sighed, shaking my head.

"I'm not going back."

"I'm not asking you to." Penny admitted, looking down. "I just... I liked having other people around. The Autobots are wonderful, but... You three reminded me of my old life, and I wanted to ask if we could be _friends_." I looked up at her, surprised.

"Of course, Penny. I didn't mean to... We can still be friends." I smiled. Penny looked up, eyebrow raised.

" _Still_?"

"What?"

"We were friends _before_?" The girl tilted her head, confused. I laughed, standing up.

"Of course."

" _Sensational_!" Penny hugged me, nearly breaking my spine and lifting me off the ground.

"Um... Can you let me go, now?"

"Sorry!" Penny dropped me, and I chuckled.

"That's some grip."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

The next morning, after some prodding from Arcee, I returned to Base. The Autobots went to space, defeating the Decepticons before their Zombies could come through and hopefully killing Megatron. No going back, now.

 ** _Aw! FRIENDSHIP! I own nothing. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	6. Not a Pet (Penny)

Miko and I finished up band practice (our only audience being Bulkhead), the girl looking at me.

"Wow, _Pen_!" Miko smiled. "You're really, really good!"

"Thank you very much, Miko." I beamed, bowing my head. I had requested a guitar from Agent Fowler, so now I had a black electric-guitar with a neon-green stripe and silver strings/attachments. "I had a wonderful time!"

"How did you get so good with music, anyway?"

"Well, I guess it always just interested me as a form of self-expression. I'm not the only one... I knew a girl, Weiss, with a lovely singing voice. My friend, Ruby, loved listening to music. Yang was always going to dance clubs, and once I helped this one girl (Nora) with her song-writing. She wanted to write a song expressing her feelings for this one boy, and I think she called it _Boop_. She told me she got the idea from her friend, Pyrrha, who wrote a song called _Dream Come True_. It was wonderful!"

"Really? Maybe I can meet them sometime! The more in the band, the merrier!"

"Yes..." I tried to keep my smile up. "I hope someday, you can meet them."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

"WHAT IN THE ALLSPARK IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" Ratchet asked. "You can't work on these projects in here! You're making a mess!"

"But the Science Fair's a big part of our grade." Raf explained. Ratchet's optics glinted. Oh no.

"Yeah!" Miko agreed. "If Bulkhead doesn't help me finish this model of our solar system-"

"Oh?" Ratchet asked. "And what does Bulkhead know of your solar system? Or Bumblebee of your volcanoes? Or..." Jack chuckled, gesturing to his annoyed partner.

"Arcee of our motorcycles?"

"Precisely! We're not _earthlings_! And they're not _scientists_."

"Oh dear." I sighed as Ratchet entered _control-freak mode_. Ratchet and science. This was just like Ruby and weaponry.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

When Optimus and 'Bee prepped to bridge out...

"Take me with you, please! You know how he gets!"

" _Come on._ " 'Bee scooped me up. " _You really think we'd leave you to that? Frag, no!_ "

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We bridged to a canyon, me sitting on Bumblebee's rotator cup, and...

" _This doesn't look like a 'Con mine._ " 'Bee looked around.

"No, Bumblebee, it does not." Optimus glared. "You two: hold this position and await my command." We watched as Optimus walked out to face a newly-awakened Decepticon. "It has been a while, _Skyquake_."

"Optimus Prime." Skyquake shoved Starscream aside. "I haven't seen you since the _Battle of Technar_. Megatron ordered me to annihilate you." Oh my goodness!

"That was a long time ago."

"That may be, Prime. But my orders still stand."

"Is this ancient war still worth fighting when so many comrades have been lost and worlds destroyed? If you want to be a true leader, Starscream, then stray from Megatron's path and lead the Decepticons toward peace."

"I would be willing to consider a truce." Screamer smirked. "If you would be willing to _bow_ before me, Optimus Prime." I clenched my fists, glaring.

"Again?!" Skyquake asked, annoyed. "Bow to this!" The ancient warrior knocked Starscream into a wall, and Starscream fled for his life.

"Wow." I commented, impressed. Optimus tried again.

"Skyquake, this is a new era on another world. Side with the Autobots, and help me end this conflict forever."

"I will never side with a Prime!" Skyquake charged and punched Optimus into a wall, throwing him aside.

"Hey!" I shouted, leaping down and running out from 'Bee and I's hiding spot, angry. "Leave him alone!"

"Get back!" Optimus ordered, standing and whipping out his cannons. Optimus began firing, and Skyquake whipped out a machine gun and attacked, hitting Optimus and sending him back.

"Prime!" Bumblebee revealed himself and ran out to help as I continued firing my arrows.

"Bumblebee, no!" Prime ordered, but 'Bee didn't listen. The yellow mech fired, hitting Skyquake and dodging bullets by leaping from one side of the crevice to another. I glared as 'Bee was hit and fell. The two Autobots began fighting Skyquake while I got into a defensive position, waiting for the right moment. The Autobot transformed and fell back, and I picked up a boulder, throwing it at Skyquake to buy them some time. I hopped in 'Bee's vehicle mode, and Skyquake chased us.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Finally, we came to a...

"Dead end!" I panicked. Bumblebee transformed with me in his servo and looked back.

"It will be a shame to crush you, _bug_." The Decepticon approached. "And your little _pet_. But it is my duty."

"I am not a _pet_!" I exclaimed. Suddenly, a horn blared, and Optimus charged in vehicle mode, transforming and punching Skyquake into a wall.

"Excellent strategy, Bumblebee." Prime commended the scout. I still had crossed arms.

"I am not a pet..." Skyquake fell, then tried to attack again.

"Skyquake, stay down!" Optimus punched him in the faceplate, then we heard familiar jet engines. "Fowler?" Skyquake shot green beans from his optics, smirking. Optimus got on a comm, panicked. "Agent Fowler, fall back!" Skyquake scanned the plane and transformed into a copy, flying up and firing at us. I hopped in 'Bee's vehicle mode again as the Autobots fell back, my eyes wide.

"We're scrapped!" Then, Fowler swooped in and attacked Skyquake from behind in his plane. Both 'Bots were eventually forced to transform, Bumblebee setting me down and leaping onto the plane. Skyquake shot into the air as 'Bee did some damage, then came crashing down. "BUMBLEBEE!" At the last moment, Fowler swooped in and let 'Bee hop onto his plane, saving Bumblebee as Skyquake crashed. 'Bee leapt down and scooped me up, and we met up with Optimus at the crash-site as Skyquake's optics closed, the mech offline.

"Had Skyquake chosen to stray from his master's path, we might not be burning him today." Optimus looked down. I felt bad... I kneeled next to the body, frowning slightly.

"I knew two people in my old life, Blake and Weiss. Blake was a member of a terrorist organization, the _White Fang_. The White Fang wanted humanity extinct, so Blake left to become a Huntress, planning to gain equality for Faunus her way. Weiss was the heiress to the _Schnee Dust Company_ , which had been one of the White Fang's main targets due to the use of Faunus labor. Weiss grew up fearing and hating the Faunus, but she didn't want to be like her father. Blake and Weiss somehow became friends... It is their story that taught me that _there is no such thing as pure evil_ , and that everyone can change if given the chance. I just wish that you had taken it, Skyquake."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We buried the Decepticon, then returned to Base that night. As Bumblebee was getting patched up...

"Bumblebee, putting yourself at risk was perhaps not the wisest of strategies, but you performed admirably." Optimus nodded. Bumblebee buzzed.

"It was nothing." 'Bee was embarrassed as he walked out. I just smiled, crossing my arms.

"Bumblebee, you're the best."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

A few days later, I was at Base with the kids, 'Bee, Bulkhead, and Ratchet while Optimus and Arcee were scouting the Arctic after the discovery of a large pod. I was sitting on the yellow staircase, listening to Time to Say Goodbye on my iPhone. Then, Raf returned from a walk, carrying something small and silver in his hands.

"Hey, guys!" Raf smiled. "Look what I found!"

"We're busy!" Ratchet looked up, then screamed. All the Autobots backed away like crazy, whipping out their weapons and looking at Raf in fear. The two humans stood in front of Raf, and I just watched from the staircase.

"Hey, hey!" Miko exclaimed. "What's with you guys?!"

"Scraplet!" Bulkhead yelled, looking terrified. "Scraplet!"

"What's a _Scraplet_?" Raf asked. I walked over to the Autobots.

"The most dangerous vermin ever to crawl upon the face of Cybertron." Ratchet glared. I crossed my arms.

"Really, Ratchet?"

"This?" Jack asked, gesturing. "Are you kidding me?"

"You're giant robots!" Miko agreed, confused. " _Scrappy_ here is... Teeny." Raf pet the Scraplet.

"You have no idea the kind of damage that _teeny_ thing can do!" Bulkhead's optics were wide.

"Aw, he wouldn't hurt anything." Raf assured. The little thing looked up with blue eyes, then bared rows of sharp teeth and leapt out of Raf's arms, charging as the Autobots fired at it. Then, it leapt up and started tearing at Bumblebee's left leg. I tore it off Bumblebee's leg and threw it away, Raf smashing it. All of us ran over as Ratchet took a look at Bumblebee, Raf and I the most worried.

"Whoa." Miko commented. "I did not see that coming."

"I'm sorry, Bumblebee!" Raf looked guilty. I placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at my Cybertronian friend, frowning slightly.

" _It's okay..._ " 'Bee winced. " _Thanks for the save, Penny..._ " I nodded, giving a small smile.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Raf asked. Ratchet sighed.

"Only a mesh wound." The medic shook his helm. "He'll live."

"Now do you believe me?!" Bulkhead asked. "All Scraplets do is dismantle machinery and eat anything metal, especially _living_ metal!" Oh no.

"Well, bug squashed, game over." Jack stated. "Right?"

"No." Ratchet replied. "When it comes to Scraplets, there's never just one."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

After deducing that the Scraplets came from the pod found in the Arctic, we realized we had to remove the Scraplets or Optimus and Arcee were doomed. We split off into groups. Jack watched Ratchet's back, Bulkhead went with Miko, Raf went with Bumblebee, and I went alone. I walked down a hallway.

"Okay, Scraplets." I frowned. "Where are you hiding..?" The lights flickered, and I heard Bulk scream like a little girl. "What?" I was worried about Prime and Arcee, so I sped up my walk and kept my eyes peeled. Suddenly, a Scraplet hopped into my path, turning its gaze towards me. Then, it bared its teeth at me. Unable to react in time, I cried out as the Scraplet sunk its teeth into my arm. I tore it of and threw it away, whipping out one of my swords and stabbing it.

"Penny?!" I heard Ratchet call. "Are you alright?!"

"Yes..." I replied, grabbing my arm. I slowly pulled my sleeve up and saw the bite mark rapidly sealing up. Then, more Scraplets found me. I took off, running for my life as they flew after me. "HELP!"

"Penny?!" Bulkhead and Miko ran up, and Bulk's optics widened. "What?! How did you get every Scraplet in this base to come after you?!"

"I DON'T KNOW! Ratchet needs to open the bridge to the Arctic! I can lead them there and get them frozen while you get Optimus and Arcee!"

"We can't just leave you running!" Miko looked horrified as she realized that the Scraplets weren't even after Bulkhead. "If they catch you-" I ran into the training room.

"Go!"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

"Penny, now!" Ratchet yelled. I ran past Ratchet as he yelled grounded, diving into the ground bridge and ending up in a pile of snow. The Scraplets moved to attack, then froze and died, falling to the ice all around me. I stood up, looking around as my eyes widened.

"Just like _Atlas_..." I looked up to see Optimus and Arcee, then smiled. "Sal-U-tations!"

"Penny?!" Arcee asked. "I'M GOING TO KILL RATCHET!"

 ** _Uh-oh. Mother Bear Mode: ACTIVATED! I own nothing. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	7. Trainwreck (Miko)

We were having a normal day at Base when...

"Optimus." Ratchet began. "I'm receiving a signal on a restricted band. It appears to be coming from a starship inside this solar system... It's an Autobot identification beacon."

"So..." Jack looked at us. "There are other 'Bots out there?"

"The masses scattered to the galaxies when Cybertron finally went dark." Arcee explained. "But 'Cons have been known to bait traps with false beacons."

"Unknown vessel." Optimus sent out a transmission to the strange ship. "This is Autobot Outpost Omega One. Identify yourself."

 _ **:** I've had warmer welcomes from Decepticon combat brigades. **:**_ A voice scoffed. The Wrecker in our midst jolted, optics wide.

"Wheeljack?!" Bulkhead asked, walking forward. "You old _'Con-crusher_! What are you doing all the way out here?" Wait, what?

 _ **:** Bulkhead? That you? What's with all the security? **:**_

"The rock we're on is crawling with 'Cons..." Bulk smirked. "How soon can you get here and even the odds?"

 _ **:** Sometime tomorrow, if I put metal to the pedal. **:**_

"Another 'Bots coming here!" I grinned, getting excited. "How cool is that?!" I was SO pumped!

"Wheeljack?" Optimus asked. "I know of him by reputation only. Can you verify his voiceprint?"

"He is one-thousand-percent the real deal, Optimus."

"We will send landing coordinates, Wheeljack. Safe journey."

"See you soon, buddy! I'll make sure you get a proper welcome!" Then, the transmission ended.

"So..." Arcee looked up at Bulk. "Who's the _boyfriend_?"

"Me and 'Jackie go way back." Bulkhead explained. "We were part of the same war unit, the Wreckers, which means the 'Cons are gonna wish he never found us." Penny slid down the yellow railing, smiling brightly.

"Wheeljack, from your stories?! I can not wait to hear the story of the Battle of Darkmount Pass from the source!"

"And I can't wait for Wheeljack to meet the two newest members of the Wrecker family." My guardian gently ruffled Penny's hair, then smiled at me.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

The next morning...

"Wheeljack's ship is approaching the landing zone." Arcee declared, checking the screens. Raf and I were talking as we worked.

"You think he's here to visit?"

"Maybe he'll stay... Have to find his own human, though."

"I bet if Yang were here, they'd be great friends." Penny mused, talking about her mysterious friends again. "And Nora would probably like him. Ruby would ask for weapons advise..."

"Ground bridge cycling up." Ratchet announced, then scowled as it shut down again. "Blasted Scraplets! Equipment hasn't been the same since the infestation."

"So, Wheeljack's gonna land halfway around the world and then you'll bridge him here?" Jack asked. Optimus nodded, frowning.

"We can't risk revealing the location of our base just in case the Decepticons are tracking Wheeljack's ship."

"Dude!" I exclaimed as Bulkhead paced in excitement. "I've never seen you so stoked!"

"Oh, you're gonna love Wheeljack." Bulk smiled. "We were like brothers. And tonight, we are gonna party!"

"Sweet!"

"Bogies closing fast on Wheeljack's position." Arcee announced. Bulkhead looked MAD.

'Con scum!" Bulk snapped. Ratchet tried to hurry his repairs to the ground bridge faster. "Open the bridge, Ratchet! We're missing all the action!"

"I'll prepare sick bay."

"Who for? _The 'Cons_? This is _Wheeljack_ we're talking about."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

When the others returned to Base, Bulkhead was convinced that something was wrong with Wheeljack. When Wheeljack and I returned from the tour of Base...

"I was just telling the guys all about you and me..." Bulk began. "At the Battle of Darkmount Pass."

"That's a heck of a story." Wheeljack grinned. Penny frowned, and Bulkhead glared venomously.

"Yep... Tell it."

"Talk, talk, talk." I groaned. "How about _after_ we go off-roading?" Bulkhead raised a servo.

"Miko, stay out of this!"

"Bulkhead, easy." Arcee tried. Wheeljack looked uncomfortable.

"I'm not sure I-"

"Tell it!"

"Fine. You wanna live in the past, Bulkhead?" Wheeljack asked. "The Wreckers were trapped between a Decepticon patrol and a Smelting Pit. The 'Cons were vicious, bearing down on us with everything they had. Me and Bulkhead engaged the enemy, left them for scrap, then I made us a way out using their backsides as stepping-stones to cross the molten metal... Isn't that how it happened?"

"Yeah... That's exactly how it happened..." Bulkhead replied. "Except for one little thing... I wasn't there."

"What?" Ratchet asked. Penny gestured for everyone to back up.

"I'd already left the Wreckers to team up with Optimus." Bulkhead continued, pissed. "But you wouldn't know that if all you did was access Wheeljack's public service record!"

"Bulkhead, what does that have to do with-" I cried out as Penny shoved me aside and got snatched up by Wheeljack in my place.

"Stay back..." The white mech warned with a different voice. An imposter. "Or I'll squeeze her into pulp."

"Let me go!" Penny pounded on the fake's servo with all she had.

"Decepticon coward!" Bulkhead snapped, raising a fist. "Let the girl go, and face me!"

"Don't fret." The fake smirked. "Plenty of fighting to come."

"Is there a real Wheeljack?!" Jack asked, eyes wide.

"Oh, indeed." The Decepticon stated. "And I expect Lord Starscream is making sport of him." Then, the fake Wheeljack opened the ground bridge, and Penny's eyes widened.

"Do not worry about me! The Decepticons can not be allowed to enter Base! Stop him!" No one moved.

"About time." The fake glared. "Let's get this party started!" Suddenly, the fake was kicked to the ground, Penny flying into Bulkhead's servo, a second Wheeljack standing up.

"I'd shut that hole before the stink comes through." The real Wrecker stated. Ratchet did so, and the two Wheeljacks faced off, circling. Wheeljack won the fight, and Bulkhead lobbed the imposter through the ground bridge.

"Nice lob." Wheeljack grinned. Penny stepped forward, smiling.

"It's an honor to meet the real Wheeljack. I have heard all of Bulkhead's old war stories."

"He ever tell you about the _Battle of Sandakan_?" Wheeljack asked. Bulkhead instantly tensed up.

"I don't think she'd like that one." Bulk tried. "Really, 'Jackie..."

"Why, Bulkhead?" Penny gave a devious grin. "Do you have something to hide?" Sometimes, I forget how devious the innocent-looking girl could be.

"I like this one." Wheeljack smirked. "Well, it all started when..."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

A few days later, after Wheeljack left, Jack and I were on death row.

"Next time, you need to do a better job of talking us out of these situations," I stated. Jack looked down.

" _Next time_."

"You think we'd have a few more seconds if we're at the back of the train..." I was getting scared. "Right?"

"Well, at least we're in this together," Jack sighed. I looked at Jack for a moment, then took his phone.

"Raf, this is _important_! Make sure Bulkhead gets my guitar! PENNY GETS EVERYTHING ELSE!" Then, the train stopped short. Something had slammed into it. Optimus drove past... It wasn't him?!

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Jack and I ran out, finding Optimus staring at the front of the train. Two small objects had slammed into it and crushed the vehicle like a tin can.

"Whoa." I gaped. "SUH-WHEET! What do you think did that?!"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

' _Penny stumbled away from the train as the other Autobots drove up, looking weak and exhausted._

 _" **Penny?!** " Bumblebee asked, transforming and catching the girl as she fell. Penny looked up tiredly, then fell unconscious. Wounds on her hands sealed, hiding metal._'

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Penny was unconscious for several days, having been injured somehow during MECH's attack. She missed the incident in Greece, and Jack and Arcee versus Arachnid. Thankfully, she woke up when we needed her.

 ** _Train - 1, Penny - 0. Come on, people! She can stop a van, but a speeding train?! That'd do some damage... I own nothing. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	8. The Scout (Bumblebee)

We all watched with worry as Ratchet scanned Optimus.

"Cybonic Plague." Ratchet confirmed. "It's only contagious if contact is made with the infected Energon."

"What was a plague doing in an Autobot spaceship?" Miko asked. The humans looked at us.

"The passengers were infected." Arcee replied shakily. "The virus wiped out millions on Cybertron during the Great War."

"The virus was engineered in the Decepticons' biological warfare program..." Ratchet turned to us. "By Megatron himself."

"You..." Raf grew worried. "You have a cure, don't you?"

"No cure..." Optimus replied weakly. Ratchet sighed.

"Optimus, please..." The medic sighed sadly. "Save your strength."

"Would Megatron create a disease without having a cure?" Jack asked. "I mean, what if he caught it by accident?"

"Indeed." Penny agreed. "Who would be _that_ foolish?" Bulkhead shook his helm, looking down.

"It's not like we can ask Megatron. He's pushing up lug-nuts."

"But..." Ratchet spoke up again. "We might be able to access the Decepticon database. For the moment, we still have a fix on their warship's location." Arcee got serious.

"Bumblebee, Penny: come with." The femme ordered, us stepping forward, and I scooped Penny up.

"Arcee..." Ratchet frowned. "Quickly."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We bridged onto the warship, looking around.

"Let's start with the lab." Arcee suggested, and we started walking.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Knockout left the lab, seemed to sense our presence, then shrugged and walked off. Arcee went to the computer and opened the commlink for Ratchet.

"I'm in the network... If it's here, I don't see it."

 _ **:** Are you certain, Arcee? **:**_ Ratchet asked through the comms. The femme shook her helm.

"I searched every file." She replied, downcast. "Nothing."

 _ **:** Well, search again! Clearly, you missed something! **:**_

"I scanned the entire database!" Arcee snapped. Meanwhile, Penny and I were looking at a suspicious door at the back of the lab.

" _Arcee, there's something back here!_ " I shouted, nervous. She didn't give me any attention.

 _ **:** Did you use a redundant quantum algorithm? **:**_

"Don't tell me how to research!" Arcee grew impatient. "You think you're the only one who cares about Optimus?" Meanwhile, I stared in horror at the contents of the back room, Penny freezing up.

" _Arcee!_ " I tried again, Penny waving her hands. " _There is something over here you should see!_ "

"What is it?!" Arcee turned to us, obviously angry.

 _ **:** What is it? What's going on? **:**_ Ratchet asked. Arcee gasped and opened the door, optics wide as she replied...

"It's Megatron. He's alive."

 _ **:** That's not possible. **:**_

"Well, I'm staring right at him!" Arcee remarked, looking at the stasis-locked warlord and activating a blaster. "Good news is: Megatron isn't exactly staring back. He's critical, hooked up to life-support. Time to finish this, once and for all."

 _ **:** Wait! Don't! **:**_

"One good reason, fast!"

 _ **:** Megatron may be Optimus' only hope for survival. **:**_

"What are you talking about?" Arcee lowered her weapon. Meanwhile, the other two of us stared.

"That's Megatron?" Penny asked. I nodded. "Why are you shaking?" I looked down. "Bumblebee-"

 _ **:** Does he display brain-wave activity? **:**_ I walked over to see the monitor, Penny on my rotator cup.

"Spiking hard." Arcee glared. "His sick mind is still at work."

 _ **:** Perfect. If a cure exists, Megatron may be the only one who knows it. You must enter his brain and find it. **:**_

"You can do that?" Penny asked. I nodded.

"Enter Megatron's brain?!" Arcee asked, freaking out. "Ratchet, are you out of your fragging mind?!"

 _ **:** The Decepticon laboratory should contain all the equipment you need for a cortical psychic-patch. **:**_

"No way!" Arcee looked scared. "Have you ever even performed the procedure?!" I'd never seen her so worried, and it made me worried.

 _ **:** No, but I have thoroughly studied the theoretical literature. Invented by Decepticons, outlawed by Autobots. **:**_ 'Cee looked even more scared as she realized she'd probably go.

"Whoa! Can't we just haul Megatron through the ground bridge, buy us some time to figure this out?"

 _ **:** Time is one thing that Optimus does not have! One of you must try this! I will not allow Optimus to pass knowing that Megatron will outlive him! **:**_

"Ratchet..." Arcee sighed. "I would lay down my life for Optimus anytime, anywhere. But a mind-body split..?" I remembered the story of how Arcee came to us. Shockwave gave her the patch. I couldn't just stand by and let her face that demon...

" _I'll do it._ " I stated. Arcee turned to me, optics wide with relief. Anna grew worried, and I bet Raf was.

"You will?" Arcee asked. I nodded.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Ratchet talked Arcee through the preparation, and I held up my thumb to go.

"Ratchet, we're ready."

 _ **:** Initiate cortical psychic-patch. **:**_

"Bumblebee..." Penny frowned. "Be careful."

" _It'll be fine._ " I promised. " _Here goes nothing..._ " There was a blinding multi-colored light, and I entered Megatron's processor...

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

 _'I looked around a familiar landscape, optics wide._

 _"It looks like Kaon." I commented. I began walking._

 _ **:Quickly, Bumblebee. I know you're in unknown territory, but you must figure out where information might be filed in Megatron's mind.:** Suddenly, I saw Optimus._

 _"Prime?"_

 _ **:Bumblebee, that is not Optimus, but a figure of Megatron's mind. It cannot see or hear you.:**_

 _"Optimus Prime!" I looked up to see Megatron. "Your Autobot armies are defeated! Bow before your new- ah!" A figure in shadow whipped out a blade, slashing and sending a red light that hit Megatron above the spark, knocking him back. A human in strange clothing walked out._

 _"Megatron." A woman with black hair and red eyes glared. "You trespassed on my planet, threatened my family! You won't get away, this time!"_

 _" **Raven**." Megatron frowned. Who the frag was **Raven**?!_

 _"Are you seeing this?!"_

 _ **:We are.:**_

 _"You pathetic human!" Megatron snarled, slicing the fake Optimus in half. "I will not be defeated by the likes of you, **Huntress**!"_ '

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

"Huntress?" Penny asked as she listened in over the comms. "That's impossible. It can't be..." Arcee's optics widened in shock.

"Megatron knows where your planet is, Penny... And this _Raven_ lady fought him off."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

 _'I watched as Raven drew a HUGE red blade, livid._

 _"Ozpin sent you, didn't he?" Megatron smirked. Raven glared._

 _"I don't answer to that **manipulative** bastard. I'm here on my own terms... You will leave **Ruby** alone."_

 _"The **daughter** of **Summer Rose** , your precious **leader**." Megatron chuckled. "The girl with **Silver Eyes**."_

 _"I will not let you hurt the child, or **my daughter**." The Huntress got into a fighting stance. "You'll have to kill me." Megatron fired his cannon, and Raven was hidden by smoke. A black bird flew up and changed into the woman, yelling in rage as she slashed her blade at the Decepticon. The two fought, equal in skill and strength despite the differences in size and likely experience and age, but soon Raven was defeated, turning to dust like the Optimus had. Megatron slowly turned and noticed me._

 _"The Autobot scout... The punishment for trespassing in my domain is your destruction!" Megatron slashed, but his blade passed through me without harming me. "How can this be?!" Megatron tried and failed a few more times before giving up attacking and using logic. "You're not wearing **phase-displacement armor**... Your eyes track my movements, so you're not a **hologram**... And I do not believe in **spirits**... So, tell me, **Scout**... What are you?!"_

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

 _After destroying three more fake's (including a convincing me), Megatron solved the puzzle._

 _"You are real, they were not! A cortical psychic-patch." Megatron chuckled darkly, looking around. "How unexpected."_

 _ **:We've stirred Megatron from his oblivion... He's becoming self-aware.:** I did not like the sound of that._

 _"If this is my subconscious..." Megatron began, then glared at me. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING INSIDE MY HEAD?!" I was so scrapped. "The only way you could have entered my mind is via cortical psychic-patch. But the question remains... What happened to me?!" Then, Megatron's optics widened. "The space bridge explosion. And yet, if-if you're in my head, I am not one with the Allspark. So, tell me, Scout... Do I still function?"_

 _ **:Bumblebee, we are out of time!:** I had to think fast._

 _" **Yes, you're online! I'm here because one of the Autobots is offlining of Cybonic Plague!** "_

 _"Cybonic Plague? Someone besides myself is-is unwell? ... Optimus!" Megatron laughed evilly. "Such irony! After ages of endless battle, the mighty Optimus Prime is felled by a simple virus from the distant past!"_

 _" **Can you help him?** "_

 _"What makes you think I would save the life of my oldest enemy?" Megatron shot another fake Optimus._

 _" **You'll never get what you want most, Megatron.** "_

 _"Oh? And just what is it that I want most, Scout?"_

 _" **To scrap Optimus.** "_

 _"Do you not see? I do slay Optimus by my own hand, at will, whenever I desire!" I glared._

 _" **But, think about it... If you let the plague destroy the real Optimus, you'll never get the chance to do it yourself when you wake up.** "_

 _"After our deep history together, to not watch the spark ebb from Optimus' eyes with my very own..."_

 _" **It'd make everything a Pit of a lot less amusing.** "_

 _"Well played, Scout." Megatron held out a servo, an equation appearing. "The chemical formula for the cure you seek, not that I expect you to know how to read it." I reached for it, but the equation vanished._

 _" **What the-?** "_

 _"Not yet... How am I to accomplish terminating Optimus, as you propose, while I'm trapped here in a perpetual daydream? Once you release me from this prison, you will have the cure... You must ensure my recovery, or Optimus fades to gunmetal grey... The **real** Optimus!" Then, Kaon began falling apart. Megatron gasped. "You were watching... You tricked me!" I began to vanish, and Megatron charged. "No!"'_

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I woke up, my helm spinning, as a ground bridge opened. I scooped Penny up and ran through, Arcee following. Ratchet made the cure and soon helped Optimus to his peds.

"That's it... Easy." Ratchet frowned. We began clapping.

"Please..." Optimus shrugged it off, smiling. "Reserve the hero's welcome for my physician, and my scout." The others clapped, smiling at me, while I rubbed the back of my helm.

" _It was nothing._ " I sighed, embarrassed by the praise. " _Really..._ " Suddenly, all went dark, and I saw Megatron, cackling in my mind.

" _ **I'm out! Or should I say** in **?**_ " I shook out of it. It was probably nothing.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Later, as I walked around, the voice and visions continued.

" ** _It is a matter of time before Optimus discovers all is not right with you, Scout. I must reclaim my body, which means taking complete and total control of yours._** "

"'Bee?" A voice asked. I turned around to see Penny. "The woman in Megatron's vision... She was a _Huntress_?" I nodded, kneeling.

"Yeah. _Raven_."

"Bumblebee... She was like me. I'm a Huntress, too. Remember?"

" ** _WHAT?!_** " The voice in my head asked. " ** _A HUNTRESS?! HERE?!_** "

" _Yeah. Any idea of who she was?_ "

"Yes. That was _Raven Branwen_ , a member of the legendary Team STRQ. I knew her daughter, Yang, and Yang's half-sister, Ruby, very well."

" _And you never heard of 'Cons on Remnant?_ "

"No. All of this is very strange... Why wouldn't anyone know?"

" _I don't know._ " I walked off, trying to think of a way to end the visions.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Later, I was up against Bulkhead in...

" _BASKETBALL_!" Miko announced. "BY WAY OF CYBERTRON! Let the games begin!" Miko blew a whistle. During the game, I froze up and chuckled the ball at Bulkhead. Miko slid down the ladder and made a buzzing noise. "FLAGRANT FOWL!"

" _Dodgeball_ by way of Cybertron." Jack commented. I made an excuse, but no one seemed to buy it.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

In a hallway, I froze up again.

" ** _If I am to reclaim my body..._** " The warlord began. " ** _I must first restore its functionality. How did I escape annihilation?_** " A vision of Starscream ripping a shard of Dark Energon from Megatron's spark flashed through my processor. " ** _Of course... Dark Energon... Starscream!_** " Megatron began taking control of my body, so I told Ratchet and he induced stasis. That was my downfall.

 _ **Raven makes an appearance! Why was Megatron after Ruby? What is the** Ozluminati **hiding? What's going to happen to Bumblebee? I own nothing. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!**_


	9. Wake Up (Raf)

Penny and I waited for Bumblebee to wake up. I spoke to Bumblebee, telling him about my day.

"Rafael..." Ratchet interrupted my talking to 'Bee. "I'm afraid Bumblebee can't hear you in power-down mode... It's getting late. Why don't I bridge you home to your family?"

"Because I told 'Bee I'd stay." I explained, making Penny smile. "He's _family_ , too." I could see that this confused Ratchet, and Penny held a laugh back.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're not even the same _species_."

"That's being _related_." I stated. "It's not the same thing... I think of you as family, Penny." Penny hugged me, making me laugh... Then, wince. "Please don't break my ribs, _sis_."

"Oops." Penny quickly let me go. "Sorry, Raf. I guess I just don't know my own strength..." I looked back at Ratchet.

"I'll show you." I pulled out my phone and showed Ratchet a picture of my birth family. "This is my family."

"It's very nice."

"Very large. Sometimes I can shout, and nobody hears me."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes..." Ratchet didn't seem interested. I sighed, looking down at the floor.

"But... Bumblebee _always_ listens." I stated, and Ratchet smiled. "And I can understand him. I'm not sure why, but I do."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

An hour later, Bumblebee got up, opened the ground bridge, and left. Bumblebee came back, and...

"Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked. "What have you been doing?" Ratchet grabbed 'Bee's arm, revealing... "Dark Energon?!" 'Bee threw a punch that knocked Ratchet out, then sharply kicked Penny into a wall, knocking her out.

"'Bee?!" I asked from the yellow staircase, horrified. "What are you doing?!" My guardian lifted me up and set me on a vent. "Bumblebee, please! I know you're in there! You have to fight whatever's making you do this!" Bumblebee left through a new ground bridge, and Ratchet slowly woke up, standing. "Ratchet! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine. More importantly: is Bumblebee?" Ratchet walked over. "I fear that time in Megatron's mind-scape is causing him to think like a Decepticon." I was shocked.

"'Bee's not a 'Con!" I insisted as Ratchet picked me up.

"Agreed. But we need to find out exactly what Bumblebee intends to do with that shard. The only one who knew of the Dark Energon was... Megatron."

"Bumblebee has Megatron's memories?!" I asked. Meanwhile, Penny was still unconscious.

"Worse. Megatron is occupying Bumblebee's mind."

"WHAT?!"

"How could I have been such a fool? The cortical psychic-patch acted as a two-way conduit. When Bumblebee returned to his own mind, Megatron followed. And now, Bumblebee... Megatron... Has bridged to nearly the same coordinates Optimus used... Awaken Penny."

"Penny!" I ran over and shook the girl's shoulder.

"Sal-U-tations..." Penny muttered. "I'm _combat-ready_..." Then, the redhead woke up. "Raf?! What happened?! Where is Bumblebee?!"

"Stay here." Ratchet opened a ground bridge. Penny and I immediately ran over to him.

"No!" I shouted, serious. "Bumblebee needs us!" Ratchet sighed, looking back at us.

"Of course he does."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We went to the Nemesis and found Bumblebee. My guardian was hooked up to Megatron and raising the Dark Energon shard. Ratchet charged.

"Ratchet, don't hurt Bumblebee!" I pleaded. Ratchet looked back, glaring slightly.

"That's _not_ Bumblebee." Ratchet was quickly beaten, and Penny ran forward, livid.

"Megatron!" Penny snarled, making 'Bee look back. "Let my friend go!" Bumblebee moved to kick her again, but Penny caught his ped with her hand and swung him into a wall. "Sorry, 'Bee! It is for your own good- Ah!" Penny was scooped up by Bumblebee, who began crushing her in his fist. "Bumblebee, please..!"

"Bumblebee, no!" I ran forward, panicking as Penny struggled, kicking and pounding on 'Bee's servo with her fists. He seemed to look at her with curiosity... "Remember who you are! Remember Penny! Remember me! I know you always listen to me, no matter what!"

"Raf, run!" Penny begged, then cried out in pain. Bumblebee began fighting for his mind.

" _Raf?_ "

"That's right, 'Bee." I smiled, hopeful. "It's me." Suddenly, Bumblebee collapsed, nearly crushing Penny. He swatted me away as he got up again, and the girl in his servo yelped. "Penny!" Ratchet got to Megatron's body.

"Farewell, Megatron." The medic ripped off the life support, and 'Bee beat him up again.

"Bumblebee!" Penny was pleading. "Stop!" Then, she cried out again. I got up, eyes wide.

"Penny... BUMBLEBEE!" I shouted. 'Bee looked back as Penny passed out in his servo.

" ** _Bumblebee can't hear you, anymore..._** " The voice of Megatron assured. I was thrown aside again. Then, Bumblebee plunged the shard into Megatron's spark, shaking out of his trance.

" _Penny?!_ " 'Bee asked, then backed away as Megatron stood.

"Decepticons! Your rightful lord and master has returned!" Megatron declared as some Vehicons entered. "Finish these pests. I have my own extermination to perform."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Megatron left, and we barely managed to escape the 'Cons, going out into the Arctic air. We called Jack, and he and Miko biked to Base and opened the ground-bridge. All eyes were wide as Ratchet scanned the unconscious Penny.

"She will be alright." The medic announced, much to our relief. "Her armor protected her for the most part, and she is slowly but surely healing... Though, her frame did substance damage." Cybertronian terms. I assumed that Penny had broken a few bones.

" _I tried to kill her..._ " Bumblebee placed his faceplate in his servos.

"It wasn't you, 'Bee." Bulkhead assured, placing his servo on Bumblebee's rotator-cup. "Penny knows that, we know it, and so do you."

"B-Bumblebee?" A tired voice asked. We all looked to see Penny waking up, sitting up from her place on a cot. Bumblebee looked down, ashamed. Penny smiled. "Sensational! You are alright!" Bumblebee looked up, stunned.

" _You're not angry?_ "

"Should I be?"

" _I tried to kill you!_ "

"No, Megatron did. And I am so happy to see you are back to normal, 'Bee!" Bumblebee's faceplate lit up, and everyone smiled.

 ** _I own nothing. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	10. Old Enemies (Jack)

I walked Arcee up the driveway, Penny walking next to me.

"Thanks for walking me home, Jack." My guardian mocked. "You're a real gentleman."

"I don't want you revved up before bedtime." I shot back. "Thanks for making sure we got home okay, Penny." The redhead smiled.

"It was not a problem, Jack. It's what friends do... We are still _friends_ , right?"

"Right." I grinned. "I want Mom to meet you and the others, Penny. And know who you really are. I just don't think she'd understand about-" I opened the garage door.

"Understand what, Jack?" Mom asked. I looked back. "You breaking curfew for the third time this month? Or why your boss called about you missing another shift at work? Or maybe the email I received from your Art History teacher, who's concerned that you've been falling asleep in class?" I frowned.

"Two words, Mom." I began. "Art and history."

"And why are you dragging Penny into this? She seems WAY too innocent for what you've been doing..." Mom glared, then sighed. "Tell me the rumors aren't true, Jack. Tell me you're not racing that motorcycle."

"No, no!" I replied. "W-wait... Where did you hear that?"

"Small town. People talk. I work in an emergency room, Jack. I've seen what can happen. So, please tell me you haven't fallen in with a bad crowd."

"My friends are in the good crowd, seriously good!"

"Jack didn't tell you?" Penny butted in. "He joined a club at school dedicated to community service. It's how we met. He's been a real help." Penny gave a small hiccup.

"Jack?" Mom's eyes were wide. "How long has this been going on?"

"A little over a year." Penny lied, then hiccuped again. "Sorry... I just wanted to make sure Jack got home okay, Mrs. Darby. Me and Jack's other friends get worried sometimes. Vince is always so mean to him..."

"He's in a good crowd?" Mom asked. Penny nodded, smiling.

"Yes. There's me, the Japanese exchange student (Miko), and the tech genius (Raf). Jack has been missing work and getting home late because he has been helping us. I'm sorry if we've caused some trouble for you and Jack. I will take full responsibility, and I will understand completely if you want to pull Jack from the club."

"No, no." Mom raised her hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't understand. Would you like some coffee?"

"No, thank you... Jack, your mother is very nice."

"I know."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

A few days later, I opened a package to find Silas from MECH on a communications device.

 ** _:_** _Hello, Jack. **:**_

"Silas." Arcee glared, transforming. Penny frowned.

"What is it?" I asked, freaked out. "What's going on?"

"MECH." Arcee replied. Now, I was REALLY worried.

"They know where I live?!"

 ** _:_** _We know things about your family that even you don't know. For example... Do you know where your mother is?_ ** _:_**

"What did you-?"

 ** _:_** _Understand, Jack... We have no intention of hurting her. In fact, we'd like to reunite the two of you as soon as possible. I just need you, Ms. Polendina, and Arcee to follow the GPS coordinates programmed into this communicator. They'll lead you to the temporary facility I've set up._ ** _:_** Arcee screamed as something interfered with her comm. **_:_** _Did I not mention our communicator scrambles the signal and your brains? Any break in communication or attempt to reach the other Autobots, and Mrs. Darby... Well, I wouldn't want to feel responsible for the outcome. Oh, and Ms. Polendina..._ ** _:_**

 ** _:_** _I'm here, too._ ** _:_** A voice announced. It all went quiet as Penny's eyes narrowed, the girl angry.

"Torchwick."

 ** _:_** _They know the truth. We here at MECH have a special surprise reserved just for you_. ** _:_**

"How did you get here?!"

 ** _:_** _I have my ways... See you soon, **Huntress**._ ** _:_** _Huntress_?

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We arrived at the location, finding MECH and Arachnid.

"Looking for June?" Arachnid asked, smirking. "She's hanging around here somewhere." Arcee transformed, glaring at her.

"Arachnid!" The spider shot webs and trapped my partner, making Penny and I panic.

"What's she doing here?!" I asked. MECH surrounded us.

"Help them, please!" Arcee pleaded, looking at Penny and I. "They're human, like you! You can't let Arachnid-"

"A few human lives are a small price to pay for a miracle of science like yourself." Silas replied. "And don't worry... We all know the truth about Ms. Polendina."

"She's a _masterpiece_." A laugh split the night air. A man with red hair and green eyes wearing a black bowler hat with a red band and feather, along with a red-lined white suitwith rounded sleeves, a small gray scarf, black gloves, long black pants, and black shoes walked out. In one hand was a cane, the other holding a lot cigar. A smirk was on his face. "Hello, again. It's been a while."

"Roman Torchwick." Penny scowled. "How did you get caught up in this?"

"A fair trade, kid. I give them info, results, and tech..." The man raised his cane, glaring as the end popped open, revealing that it was a gun. What?! "They help me find _Neo_." Arcee was knocked out as Penny and Torchwick had a stare-down.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Arachnid challenged me to find my mother and rescue her in seven minutes, and she'd let us go. Penny gestured for me to listen as she and Torchwick circled each other menacingly.

"Go, Jack. I will meet you out there."

"I doubt that." Torchwick smiled evilly. I had no choice. I ran out and began looking for my mom.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

 _'Penny's backpack opened, swords flying out and spreading behind her back. The girl glared, Torchwick spinning his cane before aiming it again._

 _"I'm giving you one chance, Torchwick, seeing as we are both in the same situation... Stand down, and I'll have the Autobots help you find **Neopolitan**. You can start over, turn away from this life of crime."_

 _"Why quit something I'm good at?" The criminal asked, then fired. Penny spun her swords and deflected the blast, then sent a flying circle of blades at Torchwick. He dodged and swung his cane at the girl, but she caught it and shoved him back. The thief smirked. "Well, the **blueprints** said you were **strong**." Penny's green eyes widened in shock. " **Secrets, secrets are no fun unless they're shared with everyone.**"_

 _"NO!" Penny dropped onto one knee, her blades rotating in front of her, glaring as she pulled her fists back. A green orb of energy formed, and Torchwick took a step back._

 _"Let's not be **crazy** , kid-"_'

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I climbed up a tower to get my mother out of a web, getting momentarily blinded by a green light.

"Jack?!" Mom asked as I climbed. I made it to the top. "Jack, what are you doing here?! Who are these people?! How did I get in this stuff?!"

"Don't worry, Mom." I assured. "I'm gonna get you out." Suddenly, Arachnid was there, and Mom let out a little shriek of fear.

"Jack... The _robots_ are _real_?!" I'd told her everything the night before. She just didn't believe me.

"I beat your deadline!" I stated. Arachnid chuckled.

"Afraid not, Jack. The task wasn't for you to find your mother by midnight. You had to rescue her. And time's up. Now..." I got webbed to the railing, crying out in pain as I hit the ground. "Take a seat, sit back, and enjoy the _horror show_."

"Arachnid!" I looked up to see Penny glaring at the spider. "Let the civilians go. Your battle is with me."

"How did you defeat Torchwick?" Arachnid asked curiously. Penny smirked in an almost dark way.

"I have my ways..." The redhead replied, glaring. "Let them go."

"Or what?"

"She is all yours, Arcee!" Penny leapt up and kicked, throwing Arachnid to the ground below, where Arcee was waiting for her. I broke free, and Mom looked up at me as I came over to help her.

"Jack?" She asked. "Is that your motorcycle?"

"I can explain... Wait, I already did." The platform began falling as the two femme's battled, and Penny snapped to attention as she saw me.

"Jack!" Penny grabbed the platform and pulled, keeping it steady as I pulled on the spider-web. "Sal-U-tations, Mrs. Darby! It is great to see you again!"

"Penny?" Mom asked. "What's happening?" Penny laughed.

"It is a long story." She replied. I accidentally turned on a cement machine as we tried to pull Mom up, then used it to trap Arachnid for a moment.

"Hang on, June!" Arcee shouted, but Arachnid broke free, webbing her to the ground. Then, Fowler arrived with the military and chased Arachnid off before helping Penny and I get Mom.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

After Fowler did his thing and explained, Arcee gave us a ride home. I helped Mom off and looked at Penny.

"Penny, who was that guy?" I asked. The redhead sighed.

"Roman Torchwick... Someone I used to know."

"And... What happened?"

"He is _alive_... I do not kill, Jack. He is looking for someone he care deeply about, grasping at straws and trying anything to find her. I hope he does."

"Who's _Neo_?"

"Neo is his _partner_." Penny smiled. I gaped, and Arcee shifted slightly. "See why he is so desperate?" A ground-bridge opened, and Penny climbed off Arcee. "I will see you three tomorrow at Base! I'll make sure Ratchet doesn't have any wrenches! Goodnight!" Penny leapt through, and Mom looked at me, confused.

" _Wrenches_?"

 ** _TORCHWICK! Sorry, I couldn't let him die the way he did. Sue me. I own nothing. Please read, review, etc. Thanks!_**


	11. Anger (Penny)

After that, I honestly didn't have any real impact until the incident with Ratchet and the Synthetic-Energon. I mean, I really wasn't needed. So, I was riding on Arcee as we chased Breakdown and Knockout, our attempts to retrieve Energon going on to borderline desperation.

 _ **:** Arcee, fall back! **:** _ Optimus ordered. _**:** You are outnumbered! **:**_

"We're _always_ outnumbered." Arcee talked back, worrying me. "We need that Energon!"

"Arcee." I warned as she sped up. "This is a bad idea!" The flying Vehicons were getting closer, and we were separated from the others!

 _ **:** Ratchet! **:**_ Optimus began. _**:** Lock onto Arcee's coordinates and prepare an emergency ground bridge. **:**_

 _ **:** I'm locked on. Arcee, decelerate and prepare to return to Base. **:**_

"Save it, Ratchet!" Arcee snapped. "I'm too close!"

 _ **:** Don't be a fool! **:**_

"Arcee!" I pleaded. Then, the flying Decepticons fired their missiles. As Arcee was knocked over and forced to resume 'Bot-mode, I was thrown several meters ahead. I sat up, gasping as Arcee and I were surrounded. Arcee sat up, the Vehicons closing in. I was in no shape to fight... A ground-bridge opened in the sky, Ratchet driving out, transforming and whipping out his blades, attacking. The medic somehow defeated all of the Decepticons with ease. "How..?" 'Bee helped Arcee up, Bulkhead scooping me up.

"Hoo-ah!" Ratchet smiled, having knocked the last one out. I stared.

"I did not see that coming."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We returned to Base, Raf reasoning an eyebrow.

"What happened?"

"I only saw the _gory aftermath_..." Bulkhead began. "But I hear that _Doc_ was a _one-'Bot wrecking machine_!" Raf looked how I felt about this... Uneasy.

"Alright..." Arcee grinned. "What's your secret?"

"No secret." Ratchet replied, picking up a green canister. "Just a little something I'd like to call _Synth-En_." He threw the canister to Arcee.

"From the data Bulkhead transcribed?" The blue femme asked, casually handing it to Bumblebee. "I thought the formula was-"

" _Incomplete_?" Ratchet chuckled. "Not anymore."

" _Cool._ " Bumblebee looked at the canister curiously. I frowned.

"So..." Bulkhead grinned as he got the green canister from Bumblebee. "Ratchet makes a better tough guy than I do a smart guy?" Optimus got the canister, looking worried.

"Ratchet..." Optimus frowned. "I question the wisdom of using yourself as a test subject."

"Optimus, you didn't see Ratchet out there." Arcee got excited. "He was in _overdrive_. We should all try this stuff." Why did this seem so wrong?

"Or give Ratchet more so we can take a vacation." Bulkhead joked. How could they be so nonchalant?

"I agree that the initial results seem _promising_." Optimus quickly spoke up, walking over to Ratchet. "But I recommend that further testing be done... On machines, _not_ Autobots. Outnumbered though we may be, old friend, we need a warrior in the laboratory right now more than we need another in the field."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Ratchet acted strange for the rest of the day. Then...

"Looks like the 'Cons hit another vein!" We got together before the ground-bridge, ready.

"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus ordered when we arrived. The situation only went downhill from there.

"Hey, hey!" Bulkhead grinned. "Shouldn't we wait for our _secret weapon_?" Oh no, not good.

"This mission is unlikely to require medical expertise." Optimus frowned. Was he as on edge as I was?

"But you never know if it may require additional firepower." We turned to see Ratchet leaning against a doorway with crossed arms. "Bumblebee can handle ground bridge duty."

"Aw..." 'Bee groaned disappointedly. "Why me?"

"Time to put some hurt on those Decepticons." Ratchet stated. I began fantasizing about punching him in the faceplate... I still needed to pay him back for the horror movie incident.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We bridged to the site, and Ratchet went insane. The mech was running and flipping everywhere. We found cover and watched the miners.

"Signal's weak." Bulkhead declared. "They may have hit a vein, but they won't find much of an Energon pulse. Not here." I frowned. What if we couldn't find more Energon?

"I find some comfort in the fact that Megatron seems as desperate to find the stuff as we are." Arcee smirked. Though I said nothing, I agreed. At least we had that.

"Do you two always talk this much during these missions?" Ratchet asked. He still had that same old Ratchet personality, deep down. His Synth-En reserves must have been running low. Ratchet leapt down, transformed, and charged the Decepticons, the rest of us charging in after the medic.

"Autobots!" The Vehicons began firing at us. Ratchet hit one and transformed, whipping his blades out.

"It's alright." He smirked. "I'm an emergency vehicle." We began figniting (myself throwing boulders to disable Vehicons while the others fired/sliced), and Ratchet vanished.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We finished the Vehicons, and I heard screaming from atop the cliff.

"No, no! NO!" We climbed up, and I stared... "That's all I know! Really!" A miner screamed. His faceplate was burned horribly.

"Now, was that so difficult?" Ratchet asked, then raised his blade. Optimus caught the blade.

"Ratchet!" Optimus snapped. "What are you doing?!"

"Getting results." Ratchet replied as the miner fled.

"And breaking protocol." Optimus glared at the medic. "That was a Decepticon _miner_ , _servant class_ , not _warrior class_." Ratchet rolled his optics.

"Let me guess. I'm just the _medic_." He scoffed. I felt rage build up... No, don't get angry. I shouldn't bring myself to get angry. I never get angry... Well, there was one time.

' _Torchwick laughed cruelly, and I became enraged, walking forward._

 _"Penny, stop!" Ruby begged. I looked back, determined._

 _"Don't worry, Ruby! I'm **combat-ready**! With that, I leapt down._ '

"Autobots do not inflict harm unless all other options have been exhausted." The Prime was saying. "It is what separates us from the Decepticons."

"Is this really the time for _another_ lecture, Optimus?" Ratchet asked. "You didn't just happen to discover Megatron's current location, did you? Well, I did! And do you happen to know where there's a stockpile of raw Energon ripe for the taking? I do!" I tried to calm myself down, but I was failing...

"Come on, Ratchet." Bulkhead tried. "Calm it down."

" _Calm_ is the last thing we need!" Ratchet shouted, pissed off. " _Calm_ is what lost us Cybertron! The 'Cons have a warship, an army! All this Energon scouting, you think Megatron isn't gearing up for something big?! We're squandering our resources chasing after his _crumbs_ when we really need to be hitting him hard and hitting him now, _precisely_ where it hurts!" This was going too far...

"A direct assault on the Decepticons would only provoke retaliation and lead to incalculable losses." Optimus looked down. "I will not endanger innocent human lives."

"Yet you seem to have no problem endangering _ours_." Ratchet mocked. "Just ask _Cliffjumper_. Oh, I forgot. He couldn't be here, today!" My optics narrowed, and I clenched my fists.

"That's it!" Arcee tried to charge, but Bulkhead held her back. Ratchet's next words made me lose it.

"You know your problem, Optimus? For such a big, strong 'Bot... You're _soft_." The medic glared. "You didn't pound Megatron into scrap when you had the chance, many chances in fact!" The hurt Optimus felt was evident on his faceplate. I walked forward, but Arcee grabbed my shoulder, sighing.

"Not now." She pleaded. I shrugged her servo off, marching forward. I couldn't stand by, anymore...

"Well, if it isn't-" Ratchet didn't even see me coming. I leapt into the air and threw a punch that sent him flying to the ground, landing on his chest.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!" I asked. "ARE YOU HEARING YOURSELF, RATCHET?! WHAT YOU JUST SAID ABOUT _CLIFFJUMPER_?! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! OPTIMUS IS YOUR _BEST FRIEND_! HE STICKS UP FOR YOU WHEN NO ONE ELSE WILL! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Everyone stared at me. "WITH AUTOBOTS LIKE _YOU_ , WHO NEEDS THE _DECEPTICONS_?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE FIGHTING TO PREVENT THINGS LIKE WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE, FIGHTING FOR _GOOD_! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"Penny, enough!" Optimus ordered. I slowly calmed down, Bulkhead scooping me up and carrying me away from the medic. "I'm afraid that the Synthetic Energon has impaired your judgement, old friend... I am confining you to Base until further notice. Bumblebee, bridge us back." Ratchet scoffed.

"Fine."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Ratchet went off anyway, not knowing I leapt onto the top of his vehicle mode as he drove off. Ratchet arrived at the Decepticon mine, and I hid as he stormed it.

"Yeah, she's kinda _domineering_ and the _extra arms_ are weird..." Breakdown was saying to a Vehicon as they walked by, not seeing Ratchet. "But I find myself intrigued by her." Breakdown had a thing for Arachnid? Who knew? Then, Ratchet revealed himself. "I was wondering when you might show."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

After Ratchet took Breakdown out, I followed him as he confronted Megatron and Knockout. I activated my comm-link (which was like an earpiece in my right ear/audial sensor).

"Penny to Base. If you are reading me, come to my coordinates. I have found Ratchet." Then, I gasped as Ratchet was defeated.

"No, no, no, no-" I placed my hands on the sides of my head, watching as the medic started bleeding green Energon. Then, I got angry again. I must have been having a malfunction, that day... As Megatron left and Knockout collected a sample of the Synthetic-Energon (getting ready to kill Ratchet with a saw as blaster-fire was heard (the other Autobots had arrived)), I stepped out. No way was I letting Ratchet die! "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"What?!" Knockout looked up. "One of the Autobots' pets?!"

"I'm _not_ a pet!" I glared. "You want a _new Autobot_ to fear?!" I activated my backpack. "I'm _combat-ready_." My blades exited my backpack, spreading out behind me.

"What?!" Knockout gaped, Ratchet passing out. I smirked and sent my blades in a spinning circle, destroying the canister of Synthetic-Energon. Then, I charged and used my blades to rocket me into the air, kicking Knockout in the chest and sending him sprawling. As I stood on his chest, I laughed, raising my blades over the Decepticon medic.

"Oops!" I smiled deviously. "Looks like I'm going to _scratch your finish_." Knockout's optics widened.

"No... NO!"

" _This_ is going to be so much _fun_!"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I sheathed my blades just before the Autobots arrived.

"Whoa!" Arcee gaped. Knockout was unconscious, covered in scratches (not deadly) to the point of being unrecognizable. "What..? HOW DID YOU-?!"

"Priorities!" I gestured to the unconscious Ratchet.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

When Ratchet woke up, I was sitting on his med-berth. The medic looked up to see Optimus, and he tried to sit, but the Prime intervened.

"Easy, old friend." Optimus smiled. "You lost a lot of Energon: good and bad." The medic sighed.

"I-I didn't intend to hurt anyone. I just wanted so badly to-"

"Help us. We know... But you nearly caused the loss of something irreplaceable: our medic, and a most trusted friend... You did lead us to a much needed Energon supply, and for that we should all be thankful."

"The Synthetic-Energon formula clearly needs refining before it can be tested again: on _machines_ , _not_ Autobots."

"Let us take comfort in the fact that you were able to dispose of the quantity that remained."

"So... Who do I have to thank for the save?"

"No thanks necessary." I stood up, smiling brightly. "I am just happy to see you back to normal, Ratchet!" Ratchet blinked a few times.

" _Penny_?"

"You should have seen Knockout." Arcee shuddered. "I think I'm going to have nightmares for the next dozen stellar-cycles."

"Did any of you see..?"

"It was over by the time we got there, _Doc-'Bot_." Bulkhead assured. "Part of me thinks that's a good thing. Did _you_ see any of it?"

"No, I didn't."

" _WHAT ARE YOU?!_ " Bumblebee finally snapped. I laughed.

"What would be the fun in telling you?" I asked. "Trust me... Someday you'll all see just how _combat-ready_ I am!" Bulkhead made a squeaking noise.

"I'm scared." To that, we all laughed (besides Optimus, he just smiled). I beamed, placing my hands on my hips and wondering what happened to Knockout when he woke up.

 **Deleted Scenes:**

Jack, Miko, and Raf stood outside of their school. Suddenly, a blur of white, red, black, green, and orange raced past. The three stared.

"Was that _Penny_?" Raf asked. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Riding on _Ratchet_?" He added. Miko shrugged.

"It's _them_ , guys. Should we really be surprised?"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Knockout sat up, groaning and raising a servo to his helm.

"Little glitch..." The medic looked to see Megatron, Breakdown, and Arachnid looking down at him with a mixture of concern and dark amusement. "W-what happened?"

"We have no idea." Arachnid let out a laugh. "But you... Someone, get us a _mirror_!" A Vehicon handed a reflective sheet of metal to Breakdown, who looked down at his partner.

"What's going on?" Knockout asked. The blue Decepticon slowly held the mirror out so the medic could see. A somewhat-feminine scream was heard throughout the mines.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

"So..." Megatron glared, unamused. "You are telling us that an Autobot disguised as a human child with flying swords did this to you?"

"It was dreadful! It was like she had the strength of a _Prime_! She said _I'm combat-ready_ , then I was on the ground, she laughed and said _looks like I'm going to scratch your finish_ and _this is going to be so much fun_ , then... **THIS**!"

" _Sadistic_..." Arachnid stared. Everyone looked at her. "I know, I know... But for Primus' sake!"

"I find this very hard to believe." The leader of the Decepticons scowled. Then, he noticed the tiny scratches on Knockout's back.

' _To Megatron and Co.,_

 _Salutations! My name is **Penny Polendina** , and I am the newest member of Team Prime! Since this is our first close-up encounter, I will let you off with a **warning** : hurt my friends, and next time, I will **not** leave you online. I will not even leave a recognizable body for your comrades to recover._

 _Have a pleasant day! **:)**_

 _- **Penny**._ '

"By the Allspark!" Megatron stared. "What _evil_ is this?!"

 _ **Everyone has a** dark side **. Penny's scared the shit out of** me **, and** I'm **the one who wrote it! As you can tell, this war is changing Penny (as all wars do with everyone), but don't worry. She won't change** too **much (she'll mostly just get angry occasionally and learn a few modern things/ways of speaking). I own nothing. Please read,** review **, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!**_


	12. Darkest Hour (Optimus)

' ** _And it was written in the covenant of Primus that:_**

 ** _When the forty-seven spheres align, a perpetual conflict will culminate upon a world forged from chaos. And the weak shall perish in the shadow of a rising darkness._**

 ** _The first of many guardians will arrive as a beacon, lighting the Warrior's way._** '

As I spoke this prophecy, my fellow Autobots became troubled.

"No _skies raining fire_?" Arcee asked. Our medic shook his helm.

"Goes without saying." Ratchet replied. "It is a _doom prophecy_ after all." Penny frowned.

" _The first of many guardians will arrive as a beacon, lighting the **Warrior** 's way._" She murmured to herself. "Why does that give me a bad feeling?"

"I say it's a load of _hooey_." Bulkhead scoffed. Ratchet looked back.

"I'd always assumed the ancients were referring to our home planet." He began worriedly. "But seeing that Cybertron has been dark for eons-"

"And considering what has befallen this planet since Megatron's arrival here." I added. Bulkhead frowned.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... We've known about theses superstitions for ages and never gave them a second thought." He stated, and Arcee nodded.

"Why all the _ominous rumblings_ , now?" She asked. I sighed.

"Because the planetary alignment to which the prophecy refers is nearly upon us."

"And it would seem that it's endpoint-" Our medic brought up an image on a screen, concerned. "Is Earth."

"Crazy coincidence." Bulkhead laughed nervously. "Right?" Arcee took a more serious approach.

"How long are we talking?" She asked, and Ratchet looked back.

"A few days, at most."

"However unsettling this revelation may be, I am more concerned about those who might believe that the prophecy speaks to them alone."

"Optimus." Penny could speak freely without the children around. " _The first of many guardians will arrive as a beacon, lighting the **Warrior** 's way_... I know what that means."

"Really?" Bulkhead asked. Penny walked over to an old board on the wall (used when the Base belonged to humans), and she gestured with a red marker.

"Ratchet, project the planets." She ordered. Ratchet obeyed, and Penny's optics scanned them, and they slowly widened. " _Remnant_." Penny circled the planet on the opposite end of the alignment.

"That's your planet?" Arcee asked. Penny nodded, then looked up.

"On Remnant, Huntsmen and Huntresses are often referred to as _guardians_. The _first guardian_ is _me_." Penny announced. "It makes sense, as I was sent from Vale, and their combat-school is called _Beacon_. As to the _Warrior_ -" June's car drove in, and we quickly shut everything down as the humans got out.

"Did we miss anything?" Miko asked, smiling brightly.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

The next morning, Agent Fowler called to tell us that the Defepticons were attacking a laboratory. I told him to call off the human soldiers, and we bridged to the location. Firing, we charged, and I noticed green blasts joining ours but didn't pay them too much mind in light of the task at hand until they took out the incoming Decepticon air-strike. Out of enemies, I turned back as Penny brushed her sleeves off, smiling.

"You missed it again." Our comrade teased. Bulkhead groaned.

"Aw, come on!" Then, Megatron himself arrived.

"Optimus." The warlord greeted. I glared, standing my ground.

"Megatron, do you not see the folly in forcing a prophecy to fruition?" I asked. My enemy smirked.

"Speak for yourself, Optimus." Megatron stated. "After all, you have been hosting the _First Guardian_." All optics went to Penny. "A Huntress, all the way from Remnant... Will the surprises never cease?" Penny glared. "And why leave matters to fate when one can forge one's own destiny? Ah, speaking of fate..." We followed his gaze...

"Raf!" Arcee exclaimed, rushing over as Bumblebee cradled the motionless human child. Taking him into her own servos, Arcee looked up at me. "He's breathing, barely..."

"It would seem I swatted a _Bee_ and squashed a _bug_." Megatron chuckled, and Bulkhead was barely able to keep Bumblebee from attacking.

" _YOU MISERABLE-!_ "

"'Bee, no!"

"Ratchet!" I opened the comms. "Bridge us back, now!" A ground-bridge opened, and I looked back. "Arcee, attend to Rafael and Bumblebee." The two went through, and Megatron retreated to the _Nemesis_ as Bulkhead, Penny, and I remained, hiding and boarding the Decepticon warship. My adversary had gone too far this time, and he would have to answer to me.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We wandered through the halls, and Penny looked up.

"Optimus, the _Warrior_ of the prophecy: I think I know who it is."

"Who?" Bulkhead asked. Penny looked down.

"There is a legend back home. It tells of the _Silver-Eyed Warriors_ , who could make the most terrifying monsters cower in fear... When Bumblebee was in Megatron's mind, Megatron faced _Raven Branwen_ , who is the mother of _Yang Xiao-Long_ , who is the half-sister to _Ruby Rose_ : a Huntress with _silver eyes_."

"And Raven was protecting someone named _Ruby_." I made the connection, my optics widening. "Megatron was trying to prevent the part of the prophecy that spoke of possible defeat, but Raven prevented him from doing so." Penny nodded.

"Ruby is the _Warrior_." She concluded. "My world and Earth are colliding. I came, then Torchwick. Who knows who else is already here? ... We're going to get help in this fight."

"Hallelujah." Bulkhead gave a smile. "This might just turn around, after all."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We secured the power source, and I sent Bulkhead and Penny back to Base (at least, I assumed that they obeyed), going after Megatron. A ground-bridge opened, and I was transported to the site of an erupting volcano. Megatron waited for me there.

"Megatron, today you answer for your crimes against Cybertron and against humanity." I stated. "One shall stand-" My opponent sneered.

"And one shall fall..." He agreed. " _You,_ Optimus Prime!" We charged, and our battle began.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Finally, it looked as though I had won the fight.

"My _destiny_..." Megatron wheezed. "This isn't how it's supposed to end." I raised my blade.

"On the contrary, Megatron..." I glared, knowing this had to be. "I could not have allowed this to end otherwise." My blade fell, and my optics widened. Megatron had caught it. Megatron looked up, then stood, smirking.

"How was it that you put it, Optimus?" My foe asked. "I could not have allowed this to end otherwise?" Megatron snapped my blade and stabbed his half into my rotator cup. Our battle began again, and I was thrown to the ground. I looked up as Dark Energon erupted from the volcano, the moon covering the sun. Megatron approached as I removed the blade from my rotator cup, pinning me down with his ped and raising his blade. "Well, well... It seems the Blood of Unicron I've been seeking is not out there-" Megatron gestured to the sky. "But rather, right here!"

"Dark Energon, erupting from the Earth?" I asked. Megatron raised his blade to finish me, but several tiny projectiles sunk into his back and pulled him off and away from me. The weapons were gone as fast as they came, and I did not see where they went or what they looked like (nor did Megatron).

"What trickery is this?!" The warlord asked, looking around. Before he could try to attack again, Bulkhead leapt from a ground-bridge and caught Megatron off-guard, buying time for Arcee and Ratchet to help me through. We didn't see who came with us...

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We arrived at Base, Ratchet and Bulkheaf helping me to the med-berth.

"Easy, Optimus." Ratchet warned. "From the looks of things, you've been exposed to a massive amount of Dark Energon." I looked up, seeing another one of Ratchet's patients: Rafael.

"I am not the only one." I sat down, then looked over at the young human. Rafael smiled.

"Hey."

"He's _lucky_ to be _alive_." June glared. I looked down, then looked up as we all heard a thud.

"What?!" Ratchet asked. Laying in the inactive ground-bridge was none other than _Penny_ , unconscious. "She... She was there?!"

"We didn't see her after Bulkhead came back." Jack admitted. "She must have stayed to help Optimus." I recalled the instant when Megatron was pulled away from me... Bumblebee went over and scooped the young femme up, taking her over to Ratchet. The medic performed a quick scan.

"She will be fine. Exposure, rather than a direct attack, is not as deadly as what happened to Rafael."

"So, Megatron found more of the dark stuff?" Jack asked. My fellow Autobots looked down.

"A volcano full." Arcee replied. Bulkhead nodded.

"The question is: how?"

"No." Ratchet disagreed with him. "The question is... What? As in: what in the world is the Blood of Unicron doing here, on Earth?"

"The 'Cons killed a _unicorn_?" Miko asked, and we all looked at her. "White horse with a horn on its head? Prances around all sparkly?"

" _Unicron_." Ratchet corrected. "An ancient evil whose fossilized blood comprises the matter which we call Dark Energon... As legend would have it."

"So..." June frowned. "You're saying this Unicron is some sort of _boogeyman_?" We all stared.

" _Boogeyman_?" Ratchet asked in confusion. It was fortunate that we had Miko there to explain.

"Make-believe creepy guy who hides in your closet."

"No, Nurse Darby." Ratchet replied. "Unicron is very real... Was. That is... Well, I do believe he once existed. I just don't subscribe to the theory that his primordial life force is the substance which... Harmed Raf."

"I've heard enough." June glared. "Jack, please help me get Raf into the car." Our Scout frowned.

" _What? Where are you taking him?_ " He asked, looking worried. Jack shared his concerns.

"Mom, I thought he was doing better." The boy frowned. June looked back.

"Raf needs to be examined by _real_ doctors, and Raf's family needs to know what's happened... His _real_ family."

"Mom, Raf's family can't protect him. Not like they can." Jack tried. I decided to intervene.

"June, it deeply grieves me that I have failed." I stood. "But, I will do everything in my power to ensure that no harm comes to our human friends, or any human, ever again." June paused, then looked back at me.

"Optimus, they're _children_. They do not belong in your world. They should be worrying about _grades_ , _Prom dates_ , _pimples_... Not their own _survival_." Due to the argument, we failed to notice two green optics opening.

"Mom, Dark Energon is pouring out of the Earth." Jack protested. "It doesn't do that... This could be about everyone's survival, not just ours."

"You're coming with me." June noticed Penny sitting up. "All four of you, and they will not be coming back!"

"I understand." That set one of our human friends off.

"That's it?!" Miko asked. "After all we've been through together: see ya?! What about our freedom to choose?!" June scowled.

"That may fly on there planet, but not here on Earth." June helped Rafael into her car, looking over. "Get in." Miko crossed her arms, scoffing.

"Do you really expect me to ride in a non-transforming vehicle?"

"Miko, I'm serious."

"You're not my mother." The girl spat. The Wrecker in our midst tried to intervene, frowning.

"Miko-"

"Neither are you!" Miko glared. June gave up, looking at Jack.

"Well, I am yours." She stated. "Let's go, Jack." The boy did not move, and Arcee stepped forward.

"She is your mom." There were a few moments of silence, then...

"I'm staying." Jack announced, then looked down. "I'm sorry." June was stunned, then glared before looking at Penny.

"You're injured." June stated, now determined. "Come on." Penny's optics narrowed.

"No." The femme declared. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Penny-"

"I have a duty, Mrs. Darby." Penny stood in Bumblebee's servo. "It's my job to save the world. I can't leave."

"It's not your job to save the world! You're just a little girl!"

"No, I'm not! Where I'm from, children as young as Raf are taught to fight to protect our world from the evils that no one else can, or even know about!" All eyes/optics widened. "You think Jack and Miko are _too young_?! My best friend, at the age of _fifteen_ , has saved cities! I've fought terrorists, Decepticons! I just fought Megatron! ... I'm not going anywhere."

"Fine." June got in her car. I looked at Ratchet.

"Ratchet, activate the ground-bridge." I ordered. June glared.

"No, thank you!" With that, June departed from our midst.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

 _During Megatron's audience with Unicron, the Chaos Bringer:_

 _"What is this I sense? The **taint of Primus** , here?! And... The **Beacon**?!"_

 _"That is **Optimus: the Last of the Primes** , and his little **pet**. Our sworn enemies."_

 _"You profess loyalty to me, yet allow a **Disciple of Primus** and a **Huntress** to live?!"_

 _"I will destroy them for you! Their screams will be heard!"_

 _"I grow weary of your prattle... Surely, if you had the power to destroy this Prime or the Huntress, you would have done so already. My **ancient rival** protects the **Child of Remnant** , and all of those who come from that Pit-forsaken rock... But, I will deal with the Prime myself."_

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

After a call from Agent Fowler and Bumblebee rescuing June and Rafael, we learned that Unicron himself was the Earth's core. We began investigating the earthquake sites, seeking a place from which we could access Unicron. I went one and...

" ** _UNICRON is power incarnate! And you, the Last of the Primes, shall PERISH!_** " An army of Unicron copies chanted. After ordering my comrades to remain at Base, I engaged the enemy in battle. I thought that I would be overwhelmed, but Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Penny arrived to come to my aid.

"Did Ratchet not relay my command?" I asked, somewhat angry at this. "Return to Base."

" ** _Reinforcements will not prevent your destruction, disciple of Primus!_** " The Chaos Bringer shouted. Arcee looked at me as we continued to fire at the manifestations.

"Optimus, you're Unicron's target." The dark blue femme stated, giving a slight glare. "Maybe _you_ should consider returning to Base."

"These manifestations of Unicron can locate me anywhere on Earth." I responded grimly. "Even our Base's shielding would only cloak my position for so long. I will not put others at risk." They would not take no for an answer.

"Then..." Bulkhead frowned. "Fall back and let us take the lead. Just this once." After some goading from Ratchet via comm, I fell back, and we tried to escape the canyon. Arcee led, followed by Bumblebee (Penny on his rotator cup), with myself behind them. Then, there was Bulkhead behind me.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We got out of the canyon, only to see a huge stone warrior with glowing purple optics.

"Is that..?" Bumblebee stared. I shook my helm.

"No, not Unicron himself, but another of his manifestations."

"If that's a _manifestation_..." Penny grimaced slightly. "I am _not_ liking our odds."

"If we can't beat Unicron..." Bulkhead looked worried. "And we can't outrun him... What exactly are we supposed to do?"

"All we can do." I replied. "Neutralize his vessels as they appear, until we find a way to destroy him... Without destroying the very Earth upon which we walk." We charged the giant Cybertronian, everyone but myself transforming to attack Unicron's back as Penny remained. I saw green lasers...

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Bulkhead and Bumblebee were thrown aside, as was Arcee. Penny was knocked aside by falling rocks. I was buried, and Unicron readied to crush me under his ped.

" ** _I am this world's past and its future..._** " The Chaos Bringer stated, raising a ped. " ** _And as of this moment..._** "

"No!" I heard Arcee shout. I closed my optics.

" ** _All Primes are simply past._** " Suddenly, a series of purple blasts ripped the manifestation apart. Unicron fell and crumbled.

" _Was that you?_ " Bumblebee asked Arcee. She shook her helm.

"Wasn't me."

"Me neither." Bulkhead stated. Everyone looked at Penny.

"Not me." The girl announced. Arcee frowned.

"Ratchet?" Arcee asked, comming the medic.

 _ **:** What is it? **:**_ Ratchet asked. _ **:** What happened? **:**_

" _I_ happened!" We turned to see Megatron emerge from the debris. The warlord leapt down, and Bulkhead gaped.

"Megatron?!"

 _ **:** He has aligned himself with Unicron. **:**_ I heard Ratchet stated over the comm. Arcee frowned.

"Don't be so sure. Megatron just saved Optimus' tailpipe." I tried to get out of the rocks as Megatron approached, and my fellow Autobots raised their weapons as it appeared that he would attack. Then, Megatron offered a servo and helped me to my peds. The others lowered their weapons.

"It is rather ironic..." Megatron frowned slightly, his tone coy. "Considering our last encounter. If memory serves, you were desperately attempting to extinguish my spark."

"That option..." I replied. "Remains very much in play."

"I would expect nothing less. However, I have a proposal..." Megatron looked at all of us expectantly. "Join me in defeating our shared enemy, Unicron: the Chaos Bringer." Ratchet immediately rejected the notion, but Megatron convinced us of his use in defeating Unicron.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We bridged to Base to hide the humans and vote on our course of action, then bridged Megatron there. My rival entered, smirking.

"So..." Megatron looked around. "This is where the _magic_ happens? Quaint." We kept our weapons trained on the Decepticon. Then...

"YOU!" Rafael ran out. Megatron was unfazed.

"You are looking much better than the last time we met, _little one_." He commented, and Rafale glared. "Humans, _resilient_."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Megatron provided some coordinates, and we opened the ground bridge.

"You first." Arcee insisted. Megatron bowed.

"As you wish."

"Wait." Penny stepped forward. "I want to come with you."

"Penny, it's not safe." Ratchet stated. "You are too _small_ , the Dark Energon would overwhelm you in an _instant_... And, you are _only human_." Penny looked up at us, her green optics wide.

"Come back." She pleaded. "Please... I can't lose anyone else." Bulkhead smirked slightly.

"Like anything could stop us." He assured her. Megatron entered the ground bridge, and we followed. I looked back before I stepped through, my optics drifting from Ratchet to our human allies, then finally to Penny. The little femme gave a small smile, which I returned before walking through the ground bridge.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We arrived in a huge cavern that glowed with Dark Energon and radiated evil. We could hear Unicron's sparkbeat.

"So..." Arcee frowned. "How long until Unicron knows we're here?"

"Make no mistake." Megatron looked troubled. "He already does."

 ** _BUM-BUM-BUUUUUUUUM! I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	13. The Puppetmaster (Jack)

Optimus didn't come back. The other three returned unharmed, but the Leader of the Autobots...

"Arcee!" I ran forward as the three came through, seeing my partner. Miko and Raf joined me.

"I was worried, Bulk!"

"You alright, 'Bee?!"

"And Optimus?" Ratchet asked sadly. "Is he..?"

"Dead?" Arcee asked. "No."

"But he looked right at us..." Bulkhead continued for her, looking down. "Without _recognizing_ us. Didn't even know his own _name_."

"When Optimus surrendered the _Matrix of Leadership_ , he lost more than the _collective wisdom of the Primes_..." Ratchet realized. "He lost his own _memories_." All went silent. Then, small taps were heard as Penny stood and walked out of the room. The taps grew rapid once she ran of sights, evidence to Penny running to her room.

"I'm going to check on her." I announced, then ran after her. Miko and Raf followed me.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We arrived at Penny's room, and I knocked.

"Penny?" I asked. I heard quiet sobbing in the room. "Penny, it's Jack, Miko, and Raf... Are you alright?" No reply. Raf gave a try.

"Penny, if you need someone to talk to, we're here for you." Rat promised. No reply.

"Let me try." Miko stepped forward with her guitar. Raf and I readied to cover our ears. "Don't... It's one Penny taught me for the band." Raf and I lowered our hands, and Miko looked down before starting to play.

" ** _I never felt_**

 ** _That it was wise_**

 ** _To wish too much..._**

 ** _To dream too big_**

 ** _Would only lead_**

 ** _To being crushed..._**

 ** _Then, I met you._**

 ** _You weren't afraid_**

 ** _Of anything..._**

 ** _You taught me how_**

 ** _To leave the ground,_**

 ** _To use my wings..._**

 ** _I never thought a hero_**

 ** _Would ever come my way,_**

 ** _But, more than that:_**

 ** _I never thought you'd be taken away..._**

 ** _Now, it's cold without you here..._**

 ** _It's like winter lasts all year..._**

 ** _But your star's still in the sky,_**

 ** _So I won't say goodbye..._**

 ** _I don't have to say goodbye..._** " Miko finished, and Penny's door opened. The teary-eyed girl gave a weak smile, then pulled Miko into a hug. Rat and I joined in, closing our eyes.

"We'll get him back." I declared. "I promise."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

After some time, we found some semblance of hope. We discovered the location of the Decepticon space-bridge, so we took it. I got into a spacesuit, ready to go with Arcee to find Vector Sigma. With the giant supercomputer, we'd be able to download Optimus' memories back into him. As Arcee and I searched Cybertron for Vector Sigma, things were getting crazy on Earth.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

 _A ground bridge opened, and a figure stepped out._

 _"So, Vector Sigma is more than **legend**?" A silver Cybertronian, Megatron, asked. "You Autobots have gone to impressive lengths to recover your leader. Be assured, I shall  never underestimate you again." Then, Megatron frowned, seeing Penny. "You brought a **sparkling** to this? Has the absence of Optimus Prime destroyed all of your **ideals**?"_

 _"No." Penny glared. "I'm just here to beat you up for kidnapping my **friend** , you **monster**." Megatron chuckled darkly._

 _"Foolish **pest**... Now, I assume the one called Arcee will be stepping through that portal with a reloaded Matrix of Leadership in hand." Megatron didn't expect Jack._

 _"We hold the space bridge!" Ratchet stated. "At **all** costs!" The Autobots tried to fight, but all of them were defeated by Megatron. Penny was swatted to the side, looking up as Megatron readied to fire his cannon at her._

 _"I shall put an end to the lineage of the Primes, for **all** time."_

 _"I cannot allow that to happen..." A voice spoke up. "Megatron." Everyone looked over as a tall figure stepped out of the ground bridge. **Optimus Prime** , or **Orion Pax**. Megatron lowered his weapon, but Orion had seen it aimed at Penny. At Orion's glare, Megatron frowned._

 _"And why should you care, Orion Pax? You are **no Prime**."_

 _"That may be true, or yet **another** deception." Orion began. "But this much I do know: my sympathies lie with the **Autobots**." Orion deployed his blades, glaring. "And you are not one of us." Penny watched as the two fought, then glared, clenching her fists as Orion was quickly defeated._

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Arcee and I came through the bridge, Arcee saving a fallen Orion Pax from Megatron. I ran over to the fallen Prime, raising the Matrix.

"Are you certain I am _worthy_?" Orion asked, sounding a bit scared. That made me frown.

"You have no idea." I replied calmly, and I began reloading the Matrix in Orion's spark. Arcee was beaten, slammed into a wall.

"HEY!" Penny stepped forward, glaring as she stood between the warlord and myself with Orion. "Leave her alone!" Megatron looked back with a glare, his optics widening slightly as he saw me reloading the Matrix.

"Stand aside." Megatron ordered. Penny didn't move.

"Penny, please!" I begged. Penny looked back.

"Don't worry, Jack!" Penny looked at Megatron, green eyes narrowing as the other Autobots looked up. "I'm _combat-ready_!" Penny's silver backpack opened, something rising up behind her. Then, the object separated into several black swords with silver edges and glowing green stripes (along with the _power-symbol_ ). All of the blades were suspended on near-transparent wires, and I noticed Penny's hand motions. She controlled them, like puppets. I gaped.

"What?!" Megatron and I asked in sync, staring. Penny laughed, then sent the blades flying in a spinning circle, the Decepticon Warlord not reacting in time. A silver arm fell to the ground, and Megatron yelled in pain. The warlord tried to use his remaining fist to smash Penny into a grease-stain, but the girl caught the fist with both hands and threw him back.

" _WHAT_ ARE YOU?!" Megatron asked. The redhead glared.

"Ever since I was young, I was trained for one purpose..." Penny's swords flew back and rotated, Penny getting down on one knee and pulling her fists back. A sphere of green energy formed, Penny allowing a small smirk to escape. "It is my _job_ to _save the world_." Megatron barely dodged, and the blast cut a hole in the cave wall that was several metered wide and deep. Then, I finished uploading the Matrix of Leadership into Orion. Seeing this, Megatron charged, kicking poor Penny aside. Optimus looked up and caught Megatron's blade as it fell, looking pretty pissed off.

"Megatron... Begone." Optimus pulled a fist back and punched the Warlord back, barraging him with several more. The final punch threw Megatron into a wall, the other Autobots running over. "Ratchet, how did we arrive here?"

"Long story, old friend." Ratchet replied. I grinned, noticing Optimus' new 'Con insignias. That would take some explaining. A ground bridge opened up next to us.

"It's ours!" Arcee announced. Finally, we were going home!

"Autobots, fall back!" Optimus ordered, and we began escaping through the bridge.

"This time, he's coming with _us_." Bulkhead stated. Penny ran over and leapt through the bridge, me following.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We arrived at Base, the other humans approaching.

"Optimus?" Raf asked worriedly. Optimus smiled.

"Hello, Rafael."

"The big guy remembers us!" Miko cheered. "Whoo-hoo!" Then, Prime noticed his insignias.

"Although, there is much I do not remember."

"Optimus..." Ratchet smiled, which scared us. "It has truly been our darkest hour, but know this: from every indication, your spark never ceased being that of an Autobot."

"Penny." I frowned, staring. "How did you do _that_?" Penny seemed to shrink under our gazes.

"What do you mean?" Miko asked. "How'd she do _what_?"

"At the space bridge..." I was trying to process what I'd seen. "All those _swords_ , you..." Penny hugged herself, fists clenched.

"Everything's _fine_ , Jack." Penny hiccuped, scared. "I was just using the prototype weapons. You know, the ones I had so I could defend myself in case of a Decepticon attack.." Another hiccup was heard. "I am assigned here by Unit E, remember?" There wasn't a hiccup that time. The hiccups...

"You're _lying_." I stated. Mom walked over, noticing...

"What's wrong with your _hands_?" She asked. Penny's eyes widened. "It's alright, Penny. I'm a nurse. If you got hurt, I can patch you up."

"Nurse Darby, I do not think that is the best idea." Ratchet warned. We looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Raf asked. Fowler sighed.

"Ms. Polendina... I'm ordering you to tell them."

"But, sir-!"

" _Penny_ , now!" Fowler looked pissed! Penny let some tears slide down her face as she looked up at Miko, Raf, Mom, and myself. I had never seen her that afraid in all my months of knowing her.

"You're my _friends_ , right?" Penny asked quietly, shaking. "You _promise_ you're my friends?"

"Yeah, _Pen_." Miko placed a hand on her shoulder. "'Till the end." Penny slowly uncrossed her arms, holding her hands out. Before she could uncurl her fingers, a space bridge formed.

"What?!" Arcee asked. Out of the vortex fell a figure in gold and red. Penny's eyes widened.

"Pyrrha?!"

 ** _Duh-duh-DUUUUUUUH! What is this shocking development?! I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	14. Awakening (Pyrrha)

I groaned in pain, looking up as a familiar blur of black, orange, and green kneeled next to me.

"P-Penny?" I asked weakly. Penny gasped, staring.

"She's hurt!" The girl shouted over her shoulder. "Mrs. Darby!" Then, everything went black.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I woke up again on a cot, and I tried to get up.

"Don't." Someone warned. I turned to see Penny. "You lost a lot of blood and aura." I felt tears in my eyes as I only sat up, staring.

"Penny..." I looked down, only to find two arms wrapped around me. Penny hugged me tightly, and I hugged back. "I'm so sorry."

"It is alright." Penny pulled away, smiling brightly. "I am _okay_ , aren't I?" I nodded shakily.

"How? We were in the arena, and there was a green light-"

"That is not important right now... How are you here? And why was there an arrow in your chest?"

"I..." I looked down at a starburst-shaped scar on my chest. I couldn't tell Penny about the Maidens, at least not yet... "The last thing I remember is a woman on top of Beacon Tower who could control fire and glass. My heel..." I looked down to see my right shoe missing, my foot and lower leg bandaged in white. "She aimed her bow, fired, and everything went green..."

"It is alright." Penny promised as I started shaking. "My friends and I found you, and we helped you... You are safe." I nodded again.

"Okay... Where are we?"

" _Autobot Outpost Omega One_ , located in _Jasper, Nevada_. We are on a planet called _Earth_ , in a _country_ called the _United States of America_. I have resided here for many months."

"WHAT?!"

"Do not freak out! The people here are really nice! ... The only problems are the _giant alien robots_."

"WHAT?!"

"There are two factions: the _Autobots_ and the _Decepticons_. The Autobots are the good-guys, and the Decepticons are the bad-guys. I have aligned myself with the Autobots, and since you're from the same planet as me, you have been placed in my custody, and thus theirs."

"What..?" I was having a REALLY hard time processing this. Then, I shook out of it, frowning. "Okay... Penny, after you vanished, someone came over the speakers. They called you a _nation's attempt at a synthetic army_." Penny's face fell.

"Pyrrha... I'm not a _real girl_." Penny held out her hands, revealing places where the faux flesh had been torn. Silver metal resided beneath the skin, and my eyes widened as the faux flesh rapidly healed. "I'm the first synthetic person capable of generating an aura."

"You have an _aura_? A _soul_?"

"Yeah... It is hard to explain, but I do. Ruby was the only one I ever told." Penny rubbed one of her arms with the opposite hand, looking nervous. "Well?" I pondered everything...

"There's just one thing." I frowned. Penny flinched. "You are a real girl." Penny's eyes widened, and she smiled. I'd never seen anyone that happy.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was so scared that you would think that I was a _freak_! I mean, you're the only person from back home here that is nice and if you _hated_ me, it would be terrible!"

"Penny, I'd never hate you." I smiled. The girl beamed. "Now... Repeat what you said before about giant alien robots?"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Penny had helped me get my shoe on, and then handed me my weapons. I stared at _Mílo_ , knowing that Cinder destroyed it. How was it here, undamaged? I placed it and my shield on my back, planning on pondering it more at a later time. Penny supported me as I limped out, my heel still being repaired by my aura and my scar fading. Everything still hurt, though...

"Ah, Ms. Nikos." A man with dark skin and a suit approached. "My name is Special Agent William Fowler, but you can just call me _Agent Fowler_. I'm the one in charge of keeping all _extraterrestrial_ beings who've aligned themselves with our government (and planet) in check... I take it that Ms. Polendina explained your current situation?" I nodded.

"Yes, sir... And, has Penny explained all about our _previous situation_?"

"Indeed."

"I told him about _aura_ and _semblances_ , too." Penny added. I nodded. "So, Agent Fowler... Did you tell them?"

"I told them that you and Ms. Nikos are from _another world populated by humans_... I never said that you _weren't_ one."

"Thank you!" Penny beamed. Fowler frowned.

"Make no mistake... You will be telling them _eventually_."

"Yes, sir..."

"So." I tried to break the tension. "Do _they_ know about aura and semblances?" The man nodded.

"From what Ms. Polendina's told me about yours, not telling them of your gifts would be a bad idea."

"I can see that." I admitted. "Well... I guess I should meet them."

"I was just about to say the same thing."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Penny helped me out of the back rooms and onto a yellow, grated platform in a large room that seemed to be carved out of stone, like a hollowed-out mountain. My eyes widened as I noticed several giant beings of metal watching me with wary blue optics.

"Amazing." I stared. Penny grinned at my reaction.

"Pyrrha, meet the Autobots." She gestured. "Autobots, this is Pyrrha Nikos: the _Invincible Girl_." I waved, blinking a few times.

"Hello."

"At least she's quiet." A red and white Autobot muttered, going back to whatever he was doing. Penny rolled her optics, laughing.

"That is _Ratchet_. He is a bit _cranky_." She explained. Ratchet scowled, and I tried to stifle a laugh. "Over there is _Arcee_. She is sort of the _you_ of Team Prime. You will get along." I looked at the only female Cybertronian and gave a small smile. The blue femme nodded. "And there is _Bulkhead_ , and he is a _Wrecker_. That means he breaks Decepticons easily, and calls for clean-up!" The green giant chuckled, grinning. "Right there is _Bumblebee_. He is the scout, and the youngest." The yellow mech waved, making a few buzzing noises. I raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"He says _it's nice to meet you_." Penny translated. I smiled at Bumblebee, not asking why he didn't speak.

"It's nice to meet you too, Bumblebee." I replied. Penny gestured to the final mech, beaming.

"Finally, there is _Optimus Prime_. He is the leader of the Autobots, the last of the Primes."

"Welcome to Earth, Ms. Nikos." Optimus kneeled. "I understand that you were in combat before your arrival?" I nodded, a bit timid.

"Indeed..." I took a deep breath. "I was battling the _Fall Maiden_ , trying to save _Beacon_."

"The _Fall Maiden_?" Penny frowned. "I thought that was just a _legend_. The _Tale of the Seasons_ , right?"

"They're _real_ , Penny." I assured. "Trust me..." I gestured to my scar. "I learned the hard way."

"Oh, and she's funny!" A teenage girl ran over and held out her hand. "Miko Nakadai!"

"Hello!" I waved, smiling. A teenage boy and a little boy walked over, along with a woman dressed in the uniform of a nurse. I waved again. "Hello!"

"So, you're from _Remnant_?" The older boy asked. I nodded. "What's it like, there?" I didn't know what to say.

"That depends on what your world is like in comparison." I answered cautiously. "Do you have Grimm?"

"What are _Grimm_?" The little boy asked timidly. "Oh, and I'm Rafael Esquivel, or _Raf_."

"Well, the Grimm are the creatures of darkness." I began. "There are many kinds, like Ursai, Beowolves, Death-Stalkers, Nevermores, Gryphons, King Taijitus, Creeps, and Boarbatusks. Their instinct is to kill humans and Faunus, so Huntsmen and Huntresses (like Penny and I) are trained to fight them."

"Cool." Miko beamed, then frowned. "What are _Faunus_?"

"Oh, um..." I looked at Penny, who just nodded. "The Faunus are people who are born with a distinct animal feature, like a tail, an extra pair of ears, tusks, horns, or claws. I've also heard of some with wings or teeth."

"Awesome!" Raf laughed. "They sound so cool!" I was astonished. Then, I slowly smiled.

"I also know two, Sun and Velvet. Sun has a monkey tail, and Velvet has bunny ears." I decided not to mention Blake.

"Ooh!" Miko smiled. "Your friends sound so cool!"

"I suppose they do." I chuckled, then grinned. "On Remnant, we also have things called _semblances_ and _auras_. Agent Fowler may have mentioned them... Our aura is the _manifestation of our soul_ as a _shield_. Everyone has it, even animals. Our aura fuels our semblance, which is a reflection of ourselves... My teammate, Nora, is full of energy. She can _absorb_ _electricity_ and use it to boost her muscle strength or turbo-charge her weapon. And Ruby, who's hyper, has _super-speed_. Blake is a bit shy, so she leaves behind _copies_ of herself so she can escape her distracted foe."

"Whoa." The teenage boy stared. "I'm Jack Darby... What's _your_ semblance?" I gave a small smirk.

"I was born to fight, but I am considered by most friends to be humble. I also have a bad habit of pushing others away when I need them most, literally... My semblance is very powerful, but I don't use its full force often. I hide it... My semblance is _polarity_."

"You can _control poles_?" Miko asked. I laughed. Why did so many people think that?

"She has control over _magnetism_." Raf translated. I held out Mílo and focused, and my blade glowed black, raising above my palm and spinning. "Cool..." I smiled brightly.

"I suppose it is... On Remnant, we also have _Dust_. Dust is the crystallized wrath of Mother Nature, and it's used in combat. All weapons use Dust."

"Speaking of Dust..." Penny frowned. "My weapons' Dust-levels have not dropped since my arrival, here. It is like they're regenerating."

"Strange." I raised an eyebrow. "Are we here for a reason?" Penny shrugged, dumbfounded.

"No clue. Maybe it is _destiny_ or something."

"Don't even mention _destiny_." I rested my head on my hand. "Just don't."

"Odd..." Ratchet frowned, looking at a screen. "Two more space bridges, like those that brought Penny and Ms. Nikos, just opened. One in the Arctic (that having the strongest signal), and one in New York City."

"What?" Arcee asked. Ratchet gestured, gazing at the map.

"See for yourselves."

"Wait..." My eyes widened. "More people from Remnant are coming here?! We have to help!"

"It could be some of our friends!" Penny agreed. "Maybe Team RWBY, Team SSSN, the rest of Team JNPR! We need to find them!"

"Ratchet..." Optimus frowned. "Activate the ground bridge, the _Arctic_ location." I focused all of my aura to finish my healing, then stood without Penny's help, flicking my arms to get my weapons in my hands. I walked down the stairs, Penny behind me, looking at the Autobots.

"I'm coming with you." I declared. Penny clapped.

"She's back!"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We exited the ground bridge, finding a frozen tundra. I used my aura to stay warm, all of us looking around. Then, I saw a familiar weapon.

"No." I knelt down, picking it up. It was only one of two... " _StormFlower_." Penny knelt next to me.

"Ren." She realized. "And look." Penny gestured to several craters, and my eyes widened.

"Ren and Nora were here, and they were attacked." I stood and walked over, seeing giant footprints. I noticed three sets of human footprints. "Ren, Nora..." I knew those sneaker-prints. "Jaune." Holding StormFlower, I came to a conclusion. "The Decepticons."

"This is bad!" Penny freaked. "The Decepticons are ruthless!"

"Ratchet, bridge us back." Optimus ordered, glaring. "And prepare to begin scanning for the Decepticon warship. The Decepticons have gone too far." I felt tears race down my face.

"Jaune..."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We didn't find anyone at the New York location. Just an empty wallet and a strand of green hair.

 ** _BUM-BUM-BUUUUUUM! Very, very not good! I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	15. Never Anger A Valkyrie (Nora)

I woke up in a HUGE room made of grey metal. I sat and looked to see two unconscious figures slowly beginning to stir. Jaune and...

"REN!" I hugged my best friend as he sat up. "Where are we?!" Ren wrapped an arm around me to calm me down, looking around.

"I don't know... Jaune?"

"No idea." The blonde knight replied. "I just remember those things... Based on the size of this place, they captured us. I hope Ruby's okay."

"Ruby's _Ruby_!" I smiled. "She can take care of herself... And if anyone hurt her, I'll break their legs."

"In order to ease your minds..." A huge, silver guy entered the room. "I can assure you, you three were the only ones brought here by space-bridge." Behind him stood a few other giant metal-people. One was red, one was blue, one was purple/black, and the one girl looked like a giant, creepy...

" _Spider-lady_!" I hid behind Ren. The three of us stood as they approached, getting into defensive positions. The silver guy smirked.

"I assume you're all friends of the other child... The one who declares she is _combat-ready_."

"Wait... _Penny_?" Jaune asked. "Penny's _alive_?"

"Indeed." The spider-lady glared. "That little beast has created much trouble for the Decepticon cause."

"Wow..." I raised an eyebrow. "Um, what's a _space-bridge_?"

"Unimportant." The silver guy waved that off. "Now, _children_... Who are you? I assume that you are also from _Remnant_ , like Ms. Polendina."

"Remnant?" Jaune asked. "Are you saying we're on _another planet_?!" Red-Guy smirked.

"Yep. _Surprise_!"

"Cool..." I smiled. Jaune looked at Ren and I.

"We tell them nothing." Jaune ordered, looking serious. We nodded. The silver guy growled.

"Your mistake." He assured, then looked at his friends. " _Knockout_ , interrogate the female. _Soundwave_ and _Breakdown_ , the leader. _Arachnid_ , you may interrogate the silent one." My eyes widened as I was picked up and carried off by Red Guy. I started fighting.

"No! Put me down!" I shouted, but his grip just got tighter. "Ren!" Then, the door closed.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I ended up in some sort of laboratory, chained to a table. Knockout crossed his arms.

"We can do this the easy way..." He held a hand out, and it turned into a giant buzz-saw. "Or the hard way." I gulped, but I glared.

"I'm not telling you _anything_." I stated. "My home-planet is the only thing I have left to lose. You've taken everything else, _Cherry-Bomb_. My teammates, my weapon... I'm not letting you take my world."

"Your courage is _admirable_." Knockout admitted. "But unfortunately, this is not going to be a pleasant experience." The robot grabbed what looked like a giant cattle-prod. My eyes lit up, and I smirked slightly. Time for a _power-up_. Just before the prod hit me, the monitors in the lab went off. "What?"

 _ **:** Attention, Decepticons. **:**_ A familiar face appeared on the screen. _**:** My name is **Penny Polendina** , and you've abducted three of my comrades. **Jaune Arc** , **Lie Ren** , and **Nora Valkyrie**. Now, since I'm feeling nice... You have the following instructions: return them to us **unharmed** , or I will hunt you down and tear every single one of you to shreds. I will ignite the **Nemesis** , and mount **Megatron** 's **helm** on a spike. I will extinguish your **sparks** , and I won't even bat an **optic**... You've gone too far, this time. **:**_

"Penny." I stared. The synthetic human was LIVID.

 _ **:** You have one hour. **:**_ Penny declared coldly, glaring. _**:** Bring them to these coordinates. **:**_ A set of numbers appeared on the screen. _**:** That is all. Have a **wonderful** day! **:**_ With that, the transmission ended, the screens cutting to static. Had Penny somehow hacked the ship?!

"Oh, _scrap_..." Knockout gaped. I managed a laugh.

"You're scared of Penny?! She's the most _innocent_ person  ever!"

"What..?" He looked at me. "She's the _most innocent_?!" I chuckled darkly, smirking.

"Definitely. Now, let me out of these chains so I can break your legs." I ordered. The Decepticon took a few steps back, his red eyes wide.

 _ **:** Decepticons. **:**_ The silver guy (likely _Megatron_ ) spoke over the intercoms. _**:** We will not be returning the human children to the **Autobots**. Continue your interrogation. **:**_

"That's a bad idea." Knockout and I stated simultaneously. We exchanged glances, frowning.

"You don't want to get wrecked by Penny or Megatron?" I asked. Knockout nodded, frowning.

"Obviously."

"Hmm..." I shook my head. "You don't seem all that bad, so I think I can help you out."

"How?"

"Zap me."

"What? That Penny _glitch_ will have my helm!"

"Trust me. Zap me, and neither of them will have reason to hurt you. Megatron will know you _tried_ , and I'll make sure we're at those coordinates."

"Huh?" Knockout pondered this, then shifted his optics. I noticed my, Ren, and Jaune's weapons on a table as the Decepticon raised his cattle-prod. There was only one _StormFlower_... That must have been how Penny knew it was us. Ren left a weapon. "You better not make me regret this, _human_." I grinned.

"Trust me... This is where it gets _good_." I laughed as the cattle-prod hit me, absorbing the energy in bolts of pink lightning. I snapped my chains and looked up. This was  a lot of power! "Sorry, gotta make it look like you fought!" I leapt up and kicked Knockout into a lab table, super-jumping onto the other table and grabbing the weapons. I saluted as Knockout looked up. "Thanks, _Cherry-Bomb_!"

"Wha-?" Knockout seemed dizzy. I just laughed.

"By the way, nice paint-job!" I leapt off the table and super-speeded out the door and down the hallway.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I ran from door to door, looking for my teammates.

"Nope! Nope! Nope!" I opened another door, seeing that Breakdown guy yelling at Jaune while Soundwave watched silently. I rolled my eyes and gathered some lightning, sending out a shockwave that knocked the two out. I ran over and jumped up, grabbing one of the chains that held Jaune by his arms from the ceiling.

"Nora!" Jaune smiled. I saluted, laughing as I started using StormFlower to cut the chain. "You are the best!"

"I know, right?!" I cut one chain. "WAH-HOO!" We swing into the wall, and I cut the second chain. Jaune fell, me landing on his back, and I got to my feet almost instantly. Jaune stood, and I handed him _Croeca Mors_. I took _Magnhild_ in my hands, _StormFlower_ at my belt. "Ren's still in trouble... Let's break some legs."

"You're terrifying."

"I hate _spiders_ , Jaune."

"And people messing with _Ren_?"

"YES!"

"Ship it."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We ran down a hallway, and I paused at an unearthly noise. My eyes slowly widened, my whole body tensing. It was a scream. A bloodcurdling scream...

"REN!" I shouted, and lightning surged all around me. I was absorbing power from the ship, and it tilted to the side. I gave a battle cry and broke a door down, enraged.

"WHAT?!" Arachnid turned and gasped as I leapt into the air and swung _Magnhild_ , sending her flying into a wall. I stalked over, livid.

"You hurt Ren?!" I slammed my hammer down on a spider leg, and the Decepticon cried out. "My partner?!" Another leg was smashed. "My best friend?!" Another leg gone. "YOU!" Smash. "SADISTIC!" Another shattered appendage. " _BITCH_!" All of her legs were shattered. Arachnid looked up, in agony. "YOU DON'T DESERVE A FAST DEATH! THE EASY WAY OUT! YOU DESERVE _HELL_!"

"Nora!" Jaune shouted. "I need your help to get Ren down!" I wanted to do more, to kill that monster. "Nora, killing her won't help Ren! Just knock her out, please! Ren wouldn't want you to become a _murderer_ for the likes of her!" My hands were shaking. "Please!"

"Fine." I created a power surge that knocked Arachnid out, then turned and saw Ren.

His shirt was in shreds, his upper body covered in bleeding gashes. His legs and arms had also received gashes, his back soaked with blood. One long scratch ran across his face.

Biting my tongue to choke back a scream or a sob, I leapt up and used StormFlower to cut the chains, gently lowering Ren down. Jaune held my best friend in his arms, and I slowly slid down the chain. I looked down at Ren's unconscious and tormented face, brushing his hair to the side and using my glove to wipe away some of the blood. I let some tears fall.

Somehow, this was my fault.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Jaune carried Ren as we ran through the ship, me running ahead and knocking out any Decepticons I saw (breaking a few legs). We made it to the bridge, and Jaune used his tech know-how (seriously, how?) to set the ship's coordinates to the ones that Penny requested. We went to the roof of the ship upon arrival, hoping these _Autobots_ had some sort of plan to rescue us.

"You are very persistent." Megatron arrived, aiming his cannon at us. "But this is where the chase ends." I stepped forward.

"You're never hurting Ren ever again." I let lightning crackle around me. Megatron glared, unsheathing a giant blade. No going back.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

 _Below, a green vortex opened. The Autobots arrived with Penny and another figure... They looked up as the **Nemesis** flew overhead._

 _"They're not going to give them up that easily." Arcee stated. Bulkhead nodded in agreement._

 _"Look." He pointed to the edge of the ship, glaring. "A **live execution**."_

 _"No..." Pyrrha clenched her fists. Penny frowned._

 _"Pyrrha?" She asked. Then, the Amazon dissolved into flaming embers, which flew up to the ship. "WHAT?!"_

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I was knocked aside, Megatron raising his blade over me.

"Nora!" Jaune shouted helplessly. I looked over at him and Ren one last time, then closed my eyes.

"Do not make promises you cannot keep, _human_." Then, there was a clang of metal and several gasps. I opened my eyes to see a familiar bronze shield holding Megatron's blade back. A figure in red and bronze stood over me, burning embers floating in the air around her. I couldn't see her face, but I knew...

"Pyrrha?" I asked. The Amazon yelled in rage, her body glowing black. Megatron was thrown back, into the door that led to the ship's roof. Placing her shield and spear on her back, Pyrrha looked back and offered a hand, green eyes lit up and a smile on her face.

"Hello, again." My teammate greeted. I slowly took her hand, and Pyrrha pulled me to my feet. I couldn't speak, only stare at her. Jaune walked over, his eyes wide and face blank. Pyrrha gave a nervous laugh. "Hello, Jaune... I'm sor-" Jaune shoved Ren into my arms and hugged Pyrrha tightly, his body shaking as he started sobbing. I only saw him cry one other time: when Qrow arrived and told him Pyrrha was gone. Pyrrha hugged back, closing her eyes. "I'm so, so, so sorry."

"Pyrrha Nikos... You are the _stupidest_ person I've ever met!" Jaune pulled away, glaring. "You went after Cinder, alone! You knew there was no way you could possibly win! You have everyone back home convinced you're _dead_! I thought you were-!"

" _I'm_ the  stupidest?" Pyrrha placed her hands on her hips. "We spent a year together at school, and you couldn't _take a hint_! If I'm the stupidest, _you're_ the  densest!" I just gaped at the fight, then laughed.

" _ARKOS_ CONFIRMED!" I shouted. "I SHIPPED IT!"

"Oh my God!" Pyrrha noticed me. "What happened to Ren?!"

" _Spider-'Con_." Jaune explained. "How do we get to Penny and these Autobot-things?"

"Jump." Pyrrha replied. "Trust me." We nodded, then leapt off the ship. Seconds later, I landed in two giant hands.

 **/\/\/\/\**

Nurse Darby patched Ren up, and I watched over him as we waited for him to wake.

"I guess it's time for introductions, since you've introduced yourselves." Jaune turned to the Autobots. "My name is Jaune Arc, leader of _Team JNPR_ and member of _Team RNJR_. I'm also Pyrrha's partner. I'd like to thank you for watching over Penny and taking care of Pyrrha."

"No thanks is necessary, Jaune." Optimus nodded. "It is our goal to defend all sentient beings from the Decepticons... I only wish that we could have protected your teammate."

"Arachnid." Arcee clenched her fist. "I swear, the next time I see that eight-legged-"

"It's taken care of." I muttered. Everyone looked at me. "I broke her legs." Arcee gaped.

"You _what_?"

"I broke her legs." I repeated. "She hurt Ren, so I broke her legs. Every single one of them."

"Impossible!" Ratchet exclaimed. I looked up, glaring.

"My partner was hurt. There was no stopping me." I stated. "Next time, I won't let her off so easily." I smiled brightly. "My name is Nora Valkyrie, and I love breaking legs. Anyone think they're _'bot_ enough to take me on?"

"Well... We've got ourselves a real _Wrecker_." Bulkhead commented, then laughed. "Welcome to Earth!" He held his hand out, and I punched it. "Ow! How do you _Remnant kids_ do  that?!" I shrugged, unsure.

"We specialize in fighting and leg-breaking."

 **/\/\/\/\**

Ren ended up with hundreds of stitches and bandages on his body, and he didn't wake up that night. I eventually fell asleep, my arms on the cot with my head resting on them. In the morning, I woke to find a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Ren, looking at me with concern in his magenta eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Am _I_ okay?" I asked, getting angry. "Are you kidding me?! Ren, you're hurt! You are the stupidest boy I've ever met! Do you have any idea how scared I was?! You were screaming! I-!" Two strong arms weakly enveloped me in a hug. I gently hugged back, letting tears fall. "I'm so happy you're okay."

"I'm sorry, Nora..." Ren gently pulled away, reaching up to wipe the tears from my eyes. "I'm sorry I scared you. Please, don't cry." I reached up and tapped his nose, smiling as I used my other hand to give him his outfit (which Jaune had somehow repaired using his mysterious and somewhat magical sewing skills (seriously, how?)).

"Boop."

/\/\/\/\

When the others arrived, Ren was up and dressed with most of his injuries healed by aura. Ren walked over to Optimus with my help, wincing before looking up at the Autobot.

"My name is Lie Ren, or Ren." Ren greeted, calm as usual. "Thank you for rescuing us from the Decepticons."

"The thanks should go to someone else, Ren." Optimus gestured. Ren looked over, seeing Penny.

"It was _you_?"

"Nope." Penny stepped aside, revealing Pyrrha. Ren's eyes widened, and Pyrrha smiled, waving.

"Hello, again!"

"You're _alive_?" Ren asked. Pyrrha nodded, walking over.

"You are not getting rid of me that easily, Ren." She teased. Jaune walked over, and the greatest group hug in any planet's history commenced.

"Team JNPR is back together." Jaune beamed. "It all goes up from here." Then, we were lifted in the air when Penny joined in the hug, and we started laughing. The synthetic human set us down, smiling brightly.

"I'm just glad I'm not the only one, anymore." She admitted. "Sparring practice?"

"Of course." Ren nodded. "It must have been difficult, Penny."

"Well, at least I had the Autobots and the others." Penny gestured to the Autobots, Nurse Darby, Agent Fowler, and the three kids who had been introduced as Jack, Miko, and Raf. "I know you will just love them!"

"I'm sure we will." Jaune grinned. "They're your friends, after all."

"Ooh!" Miko ran over. "Any of you play? I think Penny and I's band could use more members!"

"I'm good with piano." Pyrrha gave a small smile. Jaune shrugged.

"Guitar."

"I can play the flute." Ren stated. I felt eyes train on me.

"I don't really play, but I can sing and write music."

"You can?" Miko, Ren, and Jaune asked in sync. My eyes widened, and Penny and Pyrrha realized why I was getting so freaked-out. My masterpiece was _Boop_ , and no one could ever hear it. Especially not _Ren_.

"Um... Yes?"

 ** _TEAM JNPR REUNITED! YAY! Who will be the  next to arrive?! We all know who's last... I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	16. Boop (Ren)

**_This is sort of a filler chapter to keep my readers happy while I work on the real story, and it's just because of how much I love Renora._**

 ** _Just so you know, these faces will be showing up, soon:_**

 ** _\- Weiss_**

 ** _\- Sun_**

 ** _\- Blake_**

 ** _\- Yang_**

 ** _\- Neo_**

 ** _\- Neptune_**

 ** _\- Emerald_**

 ** _\- Cinder_**

 ** _\- Mercury_**

 ** _\- RUBY! :)_**

 ** _Then, I may add some more RWBY adults in! Go ahead and vote in the reviews. Options are:_**

 ** _\- Ozpin_**

 ** _\- Goodwitch_**

 ** _\- Ironwood_**

 ** _\- Qrow_**

 ** _\- Taiyang_**

 ** _\- Raven_**

 ** _\- Salem_**

 ** _\- Oobleck_**

 ** _\- Port_**

 ** _\- PROFESSOR POLENDINA! :)_**

 ** _I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**

Slowly, things settled into a normal routine.

Wake up.

Have the new, human additions to the team get breakfast.

Pair/team up and scout for Energon and Decepticon activity.

Come back.

Lunch for the humans.

Mess around with the kids.

Dinner.

Sleep.

So, that's how it went for several weeks. At least it was a bit more relaxing than Beacon life.

"REEEEEN!"

Never mind.

"Yes, Nora?" I asked, looking up from my meditation.

"Bumblebee keeps saying something, and no one who can understand him is here or being helpful-" Nora glared, looking up at... "Ratchet."

"Whatever." The medic muttered. Nora looked back at me.

"Heeelp!"

"Fine." I stood, and we went over to where Bumblebee was muttering darkly. "I think he's still upset about how MECH knocked him out so easily."

"Hey, at least Penny was there to kick their butts before they could hurt him!"

"True, but I believe that his ego took a beating."

Bumblebee turned to us and started buzzing angrily.

"No translation needed." Nora laughed. I smiled at my partner, rolling my eyes.

It had been over a decade since our meeting, yet she continued to find new was of making me smile.

And surprising me.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

It was mid-afternoon, and I was wandering the halls when I came across the training room.

A sign labeled band-practice was hanging on the door.

Curious, I opened the door to see Miko, Pyrrha, Penny, Jaune, and...

Nora?

"Miko, what are you-?" Nora frowned. She was interrupted.

"Nora, I found it and I read it." Miko confessed, holding a paper covered in pink ink up. "I think it's great... We should play it."

"No!" Nora almost screamed in fear. "We can't! Never, never ever!"

"What's wrong?" Jaune asked. Nora shifted uncomfortably.

"I-I don't want anyone to hear it." My partner muttered. "It's... It's not that good, and no one was ever meant to hear it. It's personal, and stupid." Jaune took the music from Miko and read it, eyes slowly widening.

"Intervention... We're playing this song, and Nora's singing it." Pyrrha and Jaune dragged a kicking and screaming Nora to the microphone, and my partner froze up as she stood there.

"He's not here." Pyrrha comforted. Nora looked around worriedly.

"It will be fine, Nora." Penny promised, smiling brightly. Nora sighed, then gave a small nod.

Everyone took pictures of the sheet music on their scrolls/phones, then got ready to play.

Penny raised a triangle, Pyrrha got the keyboard, and Jaune and Miko had guitars.

Nora held the microphone stand like a lifeline.

"Ready?" Miko asked. Nora nodded. "In a one, in a two, in a three..!" The music began, soft and sad, and Nora took a deep breath. Then...

" ** _Never knew a time, when you weren't by my side._**

 ** _The one thing I could always count on..._**

 ** _Always there for me, you've been my family_**

 **Even when all other hope was gone...** "

The song was about...

" **But for a while things have seemed so different,**

 ** _Like it's the same but still brand new._**

 ** _I can't believe it..._**

 ** _When did I start to fall for you?_** "

Me?! My jaw dropped, and I realized why Nora didn't want to sing the song...

Her voice was excellent. I couldn't believe I never knew.

But that song...

" ** _Have I lost my mind, have I just been blind?_**

 ** _Never to have seen you might be_**

 ** _Everything I need, everything I dream..._**

 ** _All along has it been right in front of me?_**

 ** _We've been together for a long-long long-long time,_**

 ** _I've never thought that you and I could be a thing!_**

 ** _I can't believe it... This is happening!_** "

How could I have never seen it before? All the signs...

" ** _I think... Oh, whoa! What am I to do?!_**

 ** _I didn't know that I would fall in love with you!_**

 ** _And what to do right now, I haven't got a clue!_**

 ** _I just bite my tongue, and when I want to say I love you I say:_**

 _Boop **!**_

 ** _Boop!_**

 ** _Boop!_** "

Wait, what?!

' _"Boop!" Nora smiled as she poked my nose, handing upside down from a tree during initiation._

 _ **I'm glad you're alright. I would have been lost without you.**_ '

No way.

' _"Nora... Would you like to go to the dance with me?"_

 _"Not **together** -together, right?"_

 _"Right."_

 _"Boop!"_

 _ **I wish that we could go together-together.**_'

How had I not noticed?

' _"I'm sorry I scared you, Nora. Please, don't cry."_

 _"Boop."_

 _ **I thought I lost you.**_ '

I'm an idiot.

" ** _Every chatelaine wants to share her reign, so come and join me in my castle!_**

 ** _We'll crush our enemies, bring them to their knees!_**

 ** _And though I have a tendency to babble:_**

 ** _When I think about you, I can't help my heart from racing!_**

 ** _My mind goes fast and my knees start shaking!_**

 ** _My stomach does flips, and my brain does flops!_**

 ** _And the feelings that I'm feeling I don't think that I can stop!_**

 _ **I could just say it:** I love your everything **!**_

 ** _But I can't quite tell myself if you're feeling quite the same!_**

 ** _Maybe I should slow it down, try to show restraint!_**

 ** _Hold Magnhild, I think I'm gonna faint..!_** "

She'd been this stressed out about it? About whether or not I returned her feelings?

Did I?

" ** _I think... Oh, whoa! What am I to do?!_**

 ** _I didn't know that I would fall in love with you!_**

 ** _And what to do right now, I haven't got a clue!_**

 ** _I just bite my tongue, and when I want to say I love you..._**

 ** _I say..._**

 _ **I'll say** boop **,**_

 ** _Boo-boo-boop-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boop..!_**

 _ **When I want to say I love you I'll say** boop **..!**_ "

Nora finished, a jubilant smile fading into a frown. Pyrrha placed a hand on her shoulder as Penny, Jaune, and Miko congratulated each other on a job well done.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I walked out on top of the mesa, seeing a figure in pink, black, white, and a hint of silver and baby-blue sitting on the ledge, hanging her legs over the edge. I gave a small smile.

"I figured I would find you here." I announced my presence, resuming my normal expression. Nora jolted, looking over her shoulder. Only now did I notice that small sadness in the turquoise orbs, usually hidden by her bubbly and cheerful personality. Now, it hit like a slap to the face.

"Oh! Hi, Ren!" Nora waved, smiling brightly. "Penny told me this was a great place to watch the sunset, and think." I sat down next to her.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Home: whether or not we'll see it again (and if I'll ever get the chance to break Cardin's legs). That, and when I can break more Decepticon legs... You know me and _breaking legs_." Nora gave a small laugh at that. I raised an eyebrow.

"Is that all you are thinking about?" As we spoke, I stared at the sunset occurring before us. The desert sky was orange like Nora's hair, pink like her favorite color, turquoise like her eyes...

"Yes." Nora was never a good liar, especially when it came to lying to me. I could always tell if something was wrong, when she needed a shoulder to cry on, when she needed to spend the night in my bed due to the nightmare of a childhood we shared...

I just never saw how she really felt about me.

Damn it.

"Nora... We need to talk about something, something important."

"What? Pancakes?! I asked Agent Fowler if Base had a kitchen, and-"

"Nora, drop the act." I turned away from the sunset to face my best friend. "I heard the song." Nora's cheerful expression faded, and she paled, her turquoise eyes widening.

"Ren, I-"

"Is that how you really feel?" I asked quietly. Nora looked down, then slowly raised her head and nodded, biting her lower lip and looking like she was trying not to cry.

"Ren, I know. It's stupid, and you don't want to be together-together. If you don't like me like that, it's okay... I don't want to lose you." My best friend looked down. I had a decision to make, now.

On one hand, I could choose to simply remain friends with Nora and keep our relationship intact at the cost of her happiness.

On the other hand, I could take a risk. A chance...

"Nora..." I slowly smiled. Nora looked up just as I pressed my lips to hers, wrapping my arms around her waist. Nora's eyes widened, then closed as she slowly wrapped her arms around my neck, and I deepened the kiss. I hadn't realized how long I had wanted to do that until then, but I slowly pulled away and rested my forehead on hers, shocked turquoise eyes meeting mine. I smiled, then slowly reached up with my left hand, pointing my index finger and gently tapping her nose. "Boop."

"R-Ren?" Nora asked. "Does this mean you want to be-?"

"Together-together?" I inquired. "I don't see why not."

"Eeeeeeeee!" Nora leapt up and hugged me, then pulled away. "Oh my gosh! Best day ever! I don't know how it could get any better!"

"Pancakes?"

"IT JUST DID!"


	17. Wrecking (Nora)

It was in the middle of the night when an Autobot called _Wheeljack_ came to the Base. In the morning...

"Take it easy, Doc!" Wheeljack shouted. "I need that arm!"

"Hold still, and you might keep it!" Ratchet replied. The others from Remnant looked at me.

"Um... Who is Wheeljack, exactly?" Ren asked. Penny smiled brightly.

"He's a Wrecker, just like Bulkhead."

"Cool!" I grinned. "Does he like explosions?! Or giant hammers?! Or smashing things?!"

"Yes, maybe, yes."

"Look, Commander. Apologies for the fireworks." Wheeljack looked up at Optimus. "Won't happen again. But I tracked Dreadwing across one-hundred light years of space."

"I thought you were roving around the galaxy." Bulkhead spoke up. "You know, looking for Autobot refugees." Wheeljack sighed, looking down.

"I was, until I found one." He admitted. "A Wrecker."

"Who?"

"Seaspray."

"Ha!" Bulkhead laughed. "How is old Barnacle-Butt?!"

"Not so good, Bulk... Blown to bits, actually." The joy drained from Bulkhead's faceplate. The other Autobots and humans were shocked.

"What?" Bulkhead asked, backing away in horror. "No..." Optimus frowned.

"Dreadwing."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Wheeljack explained what happened to Seaspray.

"I know of this Dreadwing. He was captain of a seeker armada. And, as such, like his twin, Skyquake, fiercely loyal to the Decepticon cause. Dreadwing has no doubt traveled to Earth to pay allegiance to his one true master." Wheeljack stood up.

"Hope he's enjoying the visit. It's gonna be his last."

"Wheeljack..." Optimus frowned. "This planet is heavily inhabited. Any strike we make against the Decepticons must be carefully measured as a team, lest we risk endangering the human population." The white Wrecker became enraged at this statement.

"Are you suggesting we sit back and do nothing?!"

"You!" Fowler had arrived. "Loose cannon! Your cowboy antics almost blew our cover!"

"Cover?" Wheeljack asked. Bulkhead walked over, frowning.

"We're robots in disguise, 'Jackie. You need an _Earth-based_ vehicle mode outside of here."

"And that spaceship you shot down?!" Fowler continued, livid. "Not Earth-based! I had to jump through some big hoops to get it hauled out of plain sight! You need to keep a tighter leash on your _people_ , Prime!"

"A _tighter leash_?!" Wheeljack asked, finally snapping. "Let me clarify, _Tiny_..." Penny sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh no."

"'Jackie..." Bulkhead warned. Wheeljack ignored him, glaring at Fowler.

"I'm not one of Optimus Prime's _people_."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I found Wheeljack repairing his ship in a cave.

"Hey!" I waved, smiling. I was ignored. "My name is Nora Valkyrie! I'm a friend of Penny's, from Remnant!" No reply. I sighed, dropping the act. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What?" Wheeljack looked up. I walked over and leapt up onto the ship, sitting on the roof. "How did you-?"

"My semblance allows me to generate, absorb, and pump electricity into my muscles." I replied. "Cybertronian-tech gives off a lot of energy. I learned that the hard way on the _Nemesis_."

"The _Nemesis_?"

"Long story. We got captured, I absorbed the ship's power, lots of weird stuff happened, I broke some spider-lady's legs... It was a weird day." I shook my head, sighing. "So, do you want to talk about it?"

"'Bout what?"

"Anything. I know a lot about what happens to people who keep their emotions locked up inside... When they let go, it only ends badly."

"What're you saying?"

"Look... Whenever one of my friends or teammates gets hurt in battle, especially my partner (Ren), I completely lose it. I break things, make them explode, and I stop caring... And right now, you're just like that. You're hurting, and you want to make the one responsible pay." I looked down. "I'll never stop fighting until the one who destroyed my school, my home, gets taken out... But I know that I'm not the one who can do it."

"What?"

"Cinder Fall attacked us. She defeated armies of the best Huntsmen and Huntresses on Remnant. She killed hundreds, she beat Pyrrha... But, one person was able to stop her in her tracks and send her running."

"Who?"

"Ruby Rose."

"'Jackie, look..." Bulkhead arrived. "Even if it weren't for the humans, we couldn't take on the 'Cons right now. We're outnumbered."

"Roadbuster, Pyro, Impactor, Rotorstorm, Seasoray..." Wheeljack glanced at Bulkhead. "All dust."

"That's what I'm talking about. Wreckers are Autobots, there just aren't that many of us left..." Bulk looked down. "But if we get behind Optimus, we have a chance to end this once and for all."

"Guys like Optimus..." Wheeljack scoffed. "They talk a good game, but when you're in the scrap, they don't want to get their hands dirty."

"Whoa, whoa, don't know Optimus like I do. Being a Wrecker meant everything to me, but I left that behind."

"Because Prime was the real thing. Blah, blah, blah!"

"Could you two just stop it?" I asked, frowning. They ignored me and continued glaring, when a beeping noise came from Wheeljack's ship.

 **:** _Wheeljack, I know you're out there, listening._ **:** A voice spoke through an open comm in the _Jackhammer_. **:** _I have a proposition for you._ **:**

I leapt down and followed the two into the ship.

"Is that-?" Bulk asked. Wheeljack's optics narrowed.

"Dreadwing."

 _ **:** Meet me at these coordinates, if you have the spark. **:**_

"I'll see you there, 'Con. Just to watch you fry."

"'Jackie, it's a trap." Bulkhead stated as Wheeljack sat down.

"I know, but when has that ever stopped me?" Wheeljack asked. "You coming with?"

"I'm in." I declared. The two looked at me, optics widening.

"Nora, no." Bulkhead shook his helm. "You can't. You'll only get hurt."

"Hey, my friends lost friends, and they're hurting." I hefted Magnhild in grenade-launcher form. "It's time to break some legs."

"No stopping her. She broke Arachnid's legs..." Bulkhead sighed. At least let me call for backup." Wheeljack rolled his optics.

"You know Wreckers don't call for backup..."

"THEY CALL FOR CLEAN-UP!" The Wreckers finished and high-fived, and we took off.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We arrived in a forest, where Dreadwing waited. Wheeljack went out to face the 'Con while Bulkhead and I got ready to fight.

"I wasn't certain you'd come." Dreadwing admitted. Wheeljack glared.

"I don't like unfinished business." The 'Con and Wheeljack both grabbed their bombs and chucked them, and they collided in mid-air. Wheeljack charged, and Dreadwing ran for it. Wheeljack gave chase, and Dreadwing set off bombs he'd already laid to cover his escape. "That all you got?!" Wheeljack cornered Dreadwing, and the white Wrecker smirked deviously. "If you're thinking about flying outta here..."

"Think again." Bulkhead finished from his position. I aimed Magnhild, giving a small laugh.

"Time to break some legs!" I announced, giggling and saluting. Dreadwing smirked, and I realized that Bulk was standing right on top of a bomb.

"Bulkhead!" Wheeljack shouted. I pulled the bomb up and threw it away before it could explode, firing a grenade at Dreadwing.

It hit him in the chest and sent him flying back.

"I said..." I glared, changing Magnhild back into a hammer. " _It's time to break some legs_."

"Okay..." Bulkhead and Wheeljack were staring at me. "She's definitely Wrecker material."

" _Wrecker material_?!" Wheeljack asked. " _Bucket-Head_ would be scared of that kid!"

"Oh, he probably is." I chuckled. "Once he saw what I did to Arachnid, he probably screamed."

I leapt down and walked over to the fallen Decepticon, raising Magnhild.

That's when another bomb went off, and everything went black.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I woke up to see two worried magenta eyes.

"Thank God." Ren hugged me. "There was a mine. You're lucky that your aura was at one-hundred percent."

"And..?"

"You're at around seven."

"Great." I was pulled to my feet. "I've got a headache..."

"You're lucky that's all that's wrong." Ren scolded, then looked up at Wheeljack and Optimus. "We better go and find Bulkhead."

"Bulkhead?" I asked. "What do you mean? Where's Bulkhead?"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We landed near Bulkhead's coordinates, and we kept our guard up as we walked through rows of containers.

"We are close to population." Optimus stated. "Remember-"

"Blasters and fuel pumps don't mix." Wheeljack muttered. The white Wrecker's tracker began beeping rapidly. "Our boy's just up ahead."

We turned a corner and gasped, seeing Bulkhead restrained with a bomb wired just above his spark chamber. The green Wrecker looked up, obviously trying to hide terror.

"Hey, guys..."

"Scrap." Wheeljack cursed. We walked up to Bulkhead as the timer rapidly counted down to detonation. "You really got yourself in a heap of scrap this time, partner."

"Stay back, 'Jackie." Bulkhead warned, then looked down at Ren and I. You brought the kids?! Get them out of here!" I frowned slightly.

"Better get to work." Wheeljack began trying to defuse the bomb, delicately opening the casing.

"Have you defused one of these before?" Optimus asked, worried. Wheeljack I didn't reply.

"Failsafes, dummy leads, booby traps... It's a work of art." Wheeljack began working on the bomb, but I could tell that he had no idea what he was doing.

"'Jackie..." Bulk warned. "If you don't abort now, we're all gonna need clean up! Think of the kids!"

"Trying to focus here, Bulk..."

"Where's Optimus?"

It dawned on us that the last Prime was AWOL.

"Like I told you, when the scrap hits the fan blades, the Generals are the first to bail."

"No..." Bulkhead stated, frowning. "Not Optimus... Get out of here already!"

"I didn't leave you on _Sandakan_ , and I'm not leaving you here."

"That's a story I want to hear." I commented. Bulkhead was getting frustrated.

"Face it, there's only one bot who can defuse this mess, and it's Dreadwing! You need to get Ren and Nora out of here now, Wheeljack!"

"That's it!" I leapt up and looked at the bomb. "Hmm... If I were a big blue 'Con, what wire would I use to defuse the bomb?" I grinned. "The blue one, of course!"

"Nora, no!" Ren shouted. I ripped the wire out, and everyone around me braced for death.

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"I love seeing things explode. I had to learn how to build and break bombs." I announced proudly. Everyone looked at me in shock.

"Okay... She's definitely a Wrecker." Wheeljack stated, then grinned. "Nice going, kid."

There was a thud as Ren passed out.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

"I had it narrowed down to the blue." Wheeljack lied to Optimus after we had chased Dreadwing off, then gave up. "Or the yellow. Or the red. So... Who do we call for clean-up?"

"Fowler." Bulkhead and I replied in sync, myself carrying Ren over my shoulder. Did he really have that little faith?

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Wheeljack left Base to explore Earth the next day.

Everything finally settled down, returning to normal...

Then, a green vortex appeared. We all stared as a figure in white stumbled through. She gripped her head, dizzy, then looked up at us with icy blue eyes. Oh my God...

"Pyrrha?! Penny?!" Weiss Schnee asked, eyes wide. "You're alive?!"

Then, Weiss looked up at the Autobots.

 ** _Well... Shit. I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	18. Strings (Miko)

The weird _Snow-Queen_ girl backed away in fear.

"Robots?!" She asked, then glared and whipped out a long, silver sword. With a spin of a group of multicolored vials in the hilt, the blade glowed red.

Strange white symbols appeared on the ground, and the girl surged forward with a battle cry.

Penny quickly summoned a group of blades from her backpack and sent them flying forward. The wires that connected the blades tripped the girl, and Team JNPR ran forward.

"It's okay, Weiss!" Jaune promised, hands up. "They're friendly!" The girl, Weiss, glared.

"And what could possibly make you think that?! You know what happened at Beacon! They could turn on us in an instant!"

"They're not like the robots from Atlas, Weiss." Ren assured. "They're alive, just like Penny."

Everything went quiet.

Penny slowly backed away, her green eyes wide.

Nora raised an eyebrow.

"Penny, what's wrong?" She asked. "You didn't know we know? Cinder told us on the intercoms after you vanished, and Ruby explained everything! _The first synthetic person capable of generating an aura_! You're amazing!"

At that, Penny turned and ran off.

"What's with her?" Jaune asked. The three members of Team JNPR turned to us, and Pyrrha gulped.

"They didn't exactly... Know." Pyrrha announced. Team JNPR's confused faces went pale.

"Oh my God..." Jaune raised a hand to his forehead. "They didn't..?" Jack stepped forward.

"What's going on?" He asked. Weiss crossed her arms.

"That's what I'd like to know!"

"Shut up, _Ice Queen_." Nora glared. Weiss shut her mouth. "And Penny didn't tell you?!"

"Tell us what?" Mrs. Darby asked. Ren looked down.

"Has Penny been avoiding you, Nurse Darby?"

"What? No... I mean, maybe..." Mrs. Darby frowned. "Yes."

"That's because you're the only one who could tell." Arcee spoke up. "Only a doctor would be able to tell the difference between Penny... And a human."

That was the bombshell.

 ** _"It's a pleasure to meet you!"_**

 ** _"You already said that."_**

 ** _"So, I did!"_**

Penny

 ** _"I'm combat-ready!"_**

Polendina

 ** _Penny grabbed a Decepticon by the ped and sent him flying._**

Was

 ** _Penny launched several boulders at Decepticons._**

An

 ** _Penny ran past, a horde of Scraplets chasing her._**

Actual

 ** _"Everything's fine, Jack." Penny hiccuped, scared._**

Real-life

 ** _"What's wrong with your hands?" Jack's mom asked. Penny's eyes widened. "It's alright, Penny. I'm a nurse. If you got hurt, I can patch you up."_**

 ** _"Nurse Darby" Ratchet frowned. "I do not think that is the best idea."_**

Straight outta science-fiction

 ** _Penny let some tears slide down her face as she looked up at Jack, Raf, Mom, and myself._**

 ** _"You're my friends, right?" Penny asked quietly, shaking. "You promise you're my friends?"_**

Robot.

It all fell into place.

Penny was a robot.

A robot who looked, felt, and acted like a human.

"What?!" Raf asked. "Penny's a human, right?! She never said she wasn't a human!"

"She never said she was." I stated quietly. I should have realized... I looked up, glaring at Jack, Raf, and Mrs. Darby. "I don't care if you think Penny's _fake_ , but she's my _friend_! I'm going to find her!"

With that, I ran off.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I came to the top of the mesa, seeing a figure hugging her knees on the edge of the platform. Soft singing floated through the air...

" ** _I've got no strings_**

 ** _To hold me down,_**

 ** _To make me fret,_**

 ** _Or make me frown..._**

 ** _I had strings,_**

 ** _But now I'm free..._**

 ** _There are no strings on me..._** " Penny sang. I slowly walked over, sitting next to her.

"Hey." I greeted. Penny seemed to get even smaller. "So... How's it going, _Pen_?" I saw Penny stiffen.

" _How's it going?_ " Penny asked. "Everyone just found that I'm **not** a  real girl! It's going horribly!" Penny placed her head on her knees. "Leave me alone."

A flutter of white passed, and Weiss was sitting on Penny's other side.

"Penny." Weiss placed a hand on her shoulder. "We thought you were dead... I have never been so happy to be wrong in my life." Penny looked up at that, eyes wide.

"Y-you hate being wrong."

"Yes, I know... Ruby was devastated. She cried and cried. Then, she attacked a Nevermore with a sword you left behind and went on a vengeful killing-spree... You were one of her best friends, and losing you pushed her over the edge." Weiss looked down, then laughed. "W-we learned something about Ruby. When we lost Pyrrha, she sorta... Froze a giant Grimm Dragon. Those _Silver-Eyed Warriors_ from the old fairytales? Ruby's one of them."

"She is?" Penny asked. Weiss nodded, smiling. "I knew it!"

"She's doing alright... She was traveling with Jaune, Nora, and Ren. I'll have to assume she'll show up sooner or later, she always does."

"Yeah. Especially when the bad guys think they've won."

"By the way... Blake's missing, and Yang lost an arm."

"What?! Not Yang!" Penny looked panicked. "Yang... She can't have gotten hurt! Her semblance-"

"Is what made her rush into danger." Weiss corrected. "She got angry when some White Fang creep stabbed Blake... She'll be fine. It's Yang."

"Yeah." Penny looked down. "How is Sun doing?"

"I'm sure he's fine. He just probably misses Blake."

"I ship it."

"Me, too." The two started laughing, which made me smile. "So... The Autobots and that Agent Fowler explained everything. I will just need some time to get used to this."

"They'll take us home when they've won the war." Penny promised. "I know you're probably worried about your sister." Weiss nodded.

"Yes... But, I'll make the most of my time, here! It's not every day you get to see another planet!" Weiss turned to me and extended her hand. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the _Schnee Dust Company_. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms..?"

"Miko Nakadi." I shook her hand. "I'm from Japan, one of the hundreds of countries here on Earth."

"Fascinating! I look forward to defending this world, Miko."

"She's gotten much better since we first met." Penny giggled. "Remember? You were all like _bad Faunus_ and _it's a combat skirt_."

"Hey!" Weiss crossed her arms. We all started laughing.

"Okay, if you guys are this awesome, I can't wait to meet your friends!" I smiled brightly, then looked at Weiss' sword curiously. "How'd you make that thing go all light-saber?"

"I used Dust." Weiss explained, then frowned slightly. "And, what exactly is a _light-saber_?"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

"FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS!" I shouted, pointing upwards. " _STAR WARS_ MARATHON!" Everyone looked at me as Penny hid behind me. "Ahem... Second order of business: you mess with Penny, I mess up your face!"

"Here, here!" Weiss agreed, crossing her arms. Team JNPR joined our standoff with Jack, Raf, and Mrs. Darby, then the Autobots stood as close as they could get to us. Even Fowler crossed his arms and glared at the three.

"But..." Jack frowned. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I..." Penny stepped out. "I didn't want you to think... I just wanted to feel normal, for once. To be treated like a person, just for a little while... I didn't want anyone to know I'm not a _real girl_."

Raf walked up the stairs, smiled at Penny, then joined the standoff.

June walked up, placed a hand on Penny's shoulder and beamed, then joined in as well.

Finally, it was just Jack. Slowly, he walked up the staircase and faced Penny, his eyes wide.

Then...

"You think you're not a real girl?" Jack asked, then hugged the girl. "You have never been more wrong."

"Aw..." I grinned. "Group hug!" All of the humans joined in (we had to force Weiss and Ren), and I saw Penny smile. "So... _STAR WARS_!"

Suddenly, an alarm went off in the Base, and Ratchet checked the monitors, frowning.

"Two space-bridges have just opened within two miles of each other... And a supposed MECH compound."

"What?!" Penny broke away. "Who else could be here?!"

"Checking local surveillance systems, now..." Ratchet played a clip.

 _The screen showed a gas station parking-lot with a forest in the background. The space-bridge opened, a dark figure stumbling out. They quickly stood, looked around, then darted into the forest faster than any human could run._

"Ruby?" Jaune asked. Weiss shook her head, frowning.

"No. Ruby leaves rose-petals when she uses her speed..." Weiss' eyes narrowed, then she sighed. "Blake."

"What's a Blake?" I asked. Weiss looked over.

"Back home, I am a member of Team RWBY. The members include myself, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao-Long, and Ruby Rose. After the Battle of Beacon, Blake ran away and didn't tell us why. Yang lost an arm trying to protect her earlier that night, so that must have something to do with it... We need to go after her."

"Checking another camera." Ratchet announced.

 _This camera showed some kind of compound, and a space-bridge opened up. A figure dressed in white, blue, red, black, and yellow stumbled out, immediately shivering._

 _Then, several men in masks surrounded the new arrival, and one shot him with a tranquilizer dart from behind._

The people from Remnant stared, then Weiss face-palmed.

"Shit."

 ** _DUH-DUH-DUUUUUUUH! Who's the second, mysterious new-arrival? Why would MECH capture them? WHO WILL BE THE NEXT TO ARRIVE?! I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	19. The Good, the Bad, and Ugly (Sun)

I woke up, blinking a few times to adjust my vision to the light. I was in some sort of cell, and I looked to see a glass window between my cell and another room. A speaker was on the wall, and a microphone hung from the ceiling. I raised an eyebrow and stood.

"Um... Hello?" I tapped the microphone. "I have no idea what's going on, but I'm pretty sure this is illegal!" A scarred man walked up to the microphone on the other side of the window. "Hello, _Ugly_... Whoops, sorry."

" _Listen, **freak**._ " The man glared. " _What are you?_ "

"Uh... What?"

" _You came out of a green portal near our headquarters. You from another **dimension**? **Planet**?_ "

"Um..." I frowned, then... " _Green portal_?! Is Penny here?!" The man glared.

" _So, you know her?_ " He held up a picture of Penny. That answered one question... I stared.

"She's alive?"

" _ **Alive**?_ " The man scoffed. " _She's a **machine**._ "

"She's alive!" I snapped. "Anyone who doesn't think so answers to me... Where am I?"

" _Your name, first._ "

"Sun Wukong." I was losing patience, and I don't lose patience easily. "Now, where am I?!"

" _The planet **Earth**._ " The man replied. My eyes widened.

"I'm on another planet... Neptune is not going to believe this." I raised a hand to my forehead, trying to process it. "Neptune, Sage, Scarlet... Blake."

" _So, can you explain why you have a **monkey-tail** , freak?_"

"Racist!" I crossed my arms. "I'm a Faunus and I'm proud!"

" _Sorry, sorry... A **Faunus** , huh? And your planet?_"

" _Remnant_ , not that you'd know anything about it."

" _True. Our last informant was rather discreet. Stupid son of a bitch ran off to find **ice-cream** or something... And these?_ " The man held up my weapons. Okay, bad.

"Very delicate controls." I warned. "One wrong move, and you lose your hand." The man set them down.

" _I'd like to know who built them._ " He stated. I scoffed.

"I built 'em. Who'd you expect?"

" _So... Could you make more weapons like these if given the proper materials?_ " The man asked. I glared.

"I'm not making weapons for the likes of you, Ugly."

" _Then... Your use as a **living** specimen has come to an end. We wish to know more about these Faunus._ "

"Uh-oh." I frowned. "Not good."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I struggled against the clamps that held me to a lab table.

"Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad..." I kept muttering, then noticed the guys in lab coats. "Dudes, you don't wanna do this! I wanna live!"

"Specimen's visible animal feature: monkey-tail." One scientist noted, jotting it down on a notepad. "Commence dismemberment and dissection." My eyes widened.

No getting out of this...

Then, something hit a scientist from behind, knocking him out.

The others all went in similar ways, dragged into the darkness of the lab.

"Who's there?" I asked. Heels clacked against concrete, and...

"Have I ever pointed out just how big of a wuss you are?"

"Blake!" I smiled. The cat-Faunus laughed, then used Gambol Shroud to break the clamps. She offered a hand and pulled me to my feet. "I have never been so happy to see you!"

"It's good to see you, too." Blake handed me my weapons. "I hacked their files. This is a messed up planet... Let's get out of here."

"Don't have to tell me, twice!"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We escaped into the woods, and when I stopped, Blake kept walking.

"Blake." I spoke. She stopped. "Don't run, again."

"I have to."

"Why?"

"It's not your problem." Blake started walking again, and I ran forward, grabbing her wrist.

"I'm not letting you go, again." I glared. "If it's your problem, it's my problem... Tell me what's wrong."

"Sun... Yang got hurt."

"And?"

"The one who hurt her... He was my partner while I was with the White Fang, and when I left, I betrayed him. He hurt Yang, and he says he will _destroy everything I love_. I have to stay away to keep everyone safe."

"One: nobody blames you for Yang." I began. "Two: love?" I smirked slightly, wagging my eyebrows. The cat-Faunus rolled her eyes. "Three: DID THAT JACKASS STAB YOU?!" Blake didn't look me in the eyes. "Four... You don't have to worry about him finding me. This guy's going to pay."

"Sun, no." Blake warned. "He's too powerful. Yang couldn't beat him, I couldn't beat him. I've seen armies that couldn't beat him! You don't stand a chance!"

"Well, I won't do it on one condition." I smirked. "Come with me."

"What?!"

"Either way, I'm dead. But on one hand, we're not alone on this crazy planet and I get to enjoy the presence of the most amazing girl I've ever met." I smiled. Blake sighed, looking up.

"Fine. Only because I know you'd follow me even if I refused."

"Yep!"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you keep trying?"

"Because I'm too stubborn to give up."

"... Thank you, Sun."

"No problem!"

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We walked through the woods for hours, searching for any sign of non-hostile civilization.

We ended up lost, then back at the compound.

"Hey, don't blame me!" I raised my hands in defense as Blake glared. "I have no idea where I'm going on this crazy, Dust-damned planet!"

That's when we noticed a battle taking place.

Two HUGE beings of metal were duking it out over the silos. One was blue and red with blue eyes, the other all covered in rust with yellow eyes.

"What the Hell?" Blake muttered, then drew Gambol Shroud. "We should do something."

"But, which one should we help?" I asked, frowning. That's when we saw a familiar green laser strike _Rusty_ , knocking him back. "Wait, is that-?!"

"Penny." Blake realized. Then, we started running.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We arrived and climbed up the side of the silo just as Penny was knocked back, dazed.

We looked up to see Rusty stab _Shiny_ , and I glared.

"Yo, _Rustbucket_!" I shouted. The robot looked down at me. "You mess with my friends, you mess with me!"

I placed my hands together and focused, my golden clones forming and charging the giant robot. They exploded on contact, sending Rusty falling close to the edge of the large silo.

Blake whipped out her gun and started firing as I helped Penny to her feet, grinning.

"Sun?!" Penny asked. "You escaped from MECH?!"

" _MECH_?" I asked. "You mean the freaky dudes with the medical tools? Blake sprung me."

We looked up as Shiny punched Rusty through the roof, sending him falling down into the silo and crushing Ugly! I mentally cheered.

"We have to go." Penny smiled as she grabbed Blake and I by the arms. "I have so much to tell you!"

"Yeah, you do." Blake crossed her arms, but I saw her smile.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We went through this crazy, green, swirly-thing and ended up in some kinda cave-thing.

There was tech and giant robots everywhere, but above all...

"Blake?!" Weiss asked. Team JNPR, Weiss, and Penny. They were all there, and all safe.

"Wait, what?!" Blake asked, then grew timid as Weiss marched up. "Weiss, I can explain-"

"Do you have any idea how worried we were?!" The heiress asked. Blake stared at her, stunned. "First, you run off without telling anyone where you're going. Then, you come to this world within two miles of an enemy base?! AND YOU!" Weiss poked me in the chest. "Getting captured by those maniacs?!"

"Yeah." I rubbed the back of my neck, laughing nervously. "They kinda tried to dissect me. Guess there are no Faunus on this planet... You weren't too worried, were you?"

"Shut up!" Weiss stamped her foot. "Now, what do you to have to say for yourselves?!"

"Weiss, I'm sorry." Blake tried. "I thought that if I ran, I could protect everyone from Adam."

"Yang told me what happened." Weiss glared. "He stabbed you. There was a mark from him slapping you across the face. Maybe you're the one who needs protected." Weiss hugged her teammate, closing her eyes. "You promised that if anything was wrong, you would come to your teammates. This is the second time you've broken that promise."

"I know... I'm sorry."

"And I thought that I said that too much." A voice laughed. Blake pulled away from Weiss, and we both looked up to see a familiar figure...

"Pyrrha?!" Blake asked. The Amazon smiled. "How are you here?! Alive?! At Beacon-!"

"I know." Pyrrha walked over. "I managed to survive the same way Penny did. I was brought here, to Earth."

"Penny." Blake turned to the robot-girl, frowning. "What's going on? How long have you been here? ... And, what are they?"

We looked up at the giant robots that were watching us.

"Sun Wukong, Blake Belladonna..." Penny smiled. "Meet the Autobots."

"Uh..." I noticed a young girl with black/pink hair staring at me. "Does that guy have a monkey-tail?"

 ** _HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	20. Roll Call (Fowler)

Penny walked down the hallway next to me as I headed to General Bryce's office, a spring in her step.

"Now, remember." I began. "Only speak when you are spoken to."

"Understood, Special Agent Fowler!" The girl saluted. "I am accustomed to standard military procedure!"

"Right... Didn't you serve under that _General Coppertree_ guy?"

"General Ironwood."

"Right, right..." We arrived, and I opened the door.

"Special Agent Fowler." General Bryce was sitting at his desk. "Please come in... Who is this?"

"Sir, this is Penny Polendina." I stated calmly. "She was chosen to speak for the visitors from Remnant."

"Sal-u-tations!" The girl saluted, smiling brightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, General Bryce!"

"... Likewise, Ms. Polendina."

"What's Private Daley doing here with that camera?" I asked. Penny and I stepped further into the room and closed the door as Bryce explained.

"He will be making a record of today's session."

"Soldier." I looked over at the camera. "Too close." I sat down in the chair, Penny remaining standing. "Sorry, we didn't dress for the occasion."

"Formality won't be anymore necessary than usual, _Bill_. But, I do need to inform you that our higher-ups are on the warpath."

"They want answers regarding recent events." I assumed. Penny tensed up next to me.

She was greatly affected by the _Nemesis Prime_ incident, as was I.

Imagine being attacked by someone you cared about.

Trusted.

"Perhaps we should begin with the demise of Optimus Prime."

"I thought we'd straightened all of this out." I rolled my eyes. "Prime is alive and well."

"Indeed, General Bryce, sir." Penny backed me up, frowning. "Optimus Prime is fully-functional." Bryce sighed.

"That's difficult for our superiors to accept without the benefit of seeing Optimus and the alleged imposter."

"Side by side?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "That didn't seem to be the wisest option at the time. The sky-jockeys were under direct orders to destroy any and all Autobots on sight."

"We were in a heightened state of security."

"Let's consider the positives. We now possess greater intel regarding MECH thanks to the efforts of Sun Wukong and Blake Belladonna (who hacked and downloaded their files onto a disk while in captivity), particularly their leader: _Silas_ , the stage name of one _Colonel Leland Bishop_ , ex-Special Tactics."

"The architect of _Project Damocles_." Bryce recalled. Penny looked confused, but I nodded.

"Satellites in orbit firing laser-beams at any target on Earth." I explained, Penny's optics widening. "Long since mothballed, and the primary reason for Bishop's discharge. He had other wild ideas, which he practiced with even greater abandon once he went rogue."

"And still, no sign of his remains?" Bryce asked. I nodded.

"Of greater concern, MECH agents (like Silas) might also be Special Tactics." I stated. Bryce raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly.

"As in... _Currently enlisted_?"

"One obvious motive for hiding their faces. I would urge a thorough investigation and leave bigger threats to metal hands more capable than our own."

"Because you've been allowed at such deeply classified levels, perhaps you and Ms. Polendina could provide some background: for the Autobots, their enemies, and these new arrivals." Bryce gestured to Penny. I took a deep breath, ready for a long explanation.

"Our transforming visitors are autonomous, robotic-organisms from the planet Cybertron. They were fighting a war over control of their world's supply of Energon, which they need to live. They're here because during their war, the Cybertronians hid Energon on other worlds. Lots of it was hidden here, growing into deposits... These battles over Energon, and it's dark counterpart, continue to this day."

"And you know this for certain?"

"I've seen more than enough to make me a believer, but I rely upon field reports from Team Prime. Which I, in turn, share with you."

"Ms. Polendina, do you go out into the field?"

"Yes, sir. What Special Agent Fowler is saying is true."

"Very well, then..." Bryce looked back at me, frowning. "Skip ahead, if you would, to the history of your involvement: Agent Fowler."

"As you know, I wasn't overjoyed with what I assumed was gonna be a 'Bot-sitting assignment." I began, and Penny let out a small giggle. "But, it's occupational hazards turned out to be surprisingly severe. And by now, the 'Bots have saved my bacon more times than I can count." I noticed Penny smirking slightly as I said this. "Of course, I've returned the favor a time or two: sometimes exercising my authority, sometimes relying upon quick thinking." Penny shrugged and nodded, sighing.

"It's true."

"And... I've made a few mistakes." I admitted. Penny counted on her fingers, and I glared. Bryce cleared his throat to break the tension.

"If you would, Agent Fowler... Provide a roll-call of the Autobots."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

After I finished my roll-call, Penny was close to snapping at Bryce.

He'd called the Autobots _war-machines_ , and that had rubbed the little android the wrong way.

Finally, after a long argument about Prime's life and allegiance (due to the Orion Pax incident) and whether or not the Autobots and I could be trusted (Penny covering for me when I mentioned the kids, informing Bryce that all of the Remnant visitors were teens), I provided roll-call for the Decepticons.

Finally, I got so frustrated that I called Prime in to verify his health and my mental health (Bryce couldn't figure out the difference between _Unicron_ and _Unicorn_ ), ending the argument.

Then, it was Penny's turn to explain everything.

"Ms. Polendina..." Bryce began. "You were the first person from Remnant to arrive on Earth, were you not?"

"Yes, sir."

"Can you give us some background, describe Remnant?"

"Yes, sir. Remnant is a world far, far away from here. Divided into four kingdoms: Altlas, Vale, Mistral, and Vacuo, it is much like this planet, though more technologically advanced except in one aspect: we have not yet perfected space-travel. On Remnant, children are raised and trained from the age of thirteen to defend our world and its people from the _Creatures of Grimm_ : monsters of darkness who are drawn to negative emotion. The warriors, _Huntsmen_ and _Huntresses_ , are trained at various academies around the world. They are taught to unlock their _aura_ , their soul, to protect themselves and give them advantage in battle."

"And... Weapons?"

"Our weaponry is fueled by _Dust_ , which is often described as _Nature's Wrath_. Dust comes in many forms with different effects: fire, water, lightning, ice, energy, air, gravity-"

"Alright, alright... Please provide a roll-call and background for each of your comrades, Ms. Polendina."

"Very well... I shall begin with Team JNPR, the only full team to arrive. Team JNPR originates from the combat-school, Beacon, and its four members are Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren."

"Pyrrha Nikos... She was the second arrival, wasn't she?"

"On our side? Yes, but we'll get to that later... Team JNPR is led by Jaune Arc. He is not the strongest fighter, but he improves with every passing day. His aura is one of the strongest I've ever encountered, strong enough to heal any injury almost instantly. Jaune also happens to be an excellent strategist."

"Hmm... Move on."

"Pyrrha Nikos is his partner. The four-time Mistral Champion, Pyrrha is one of the strongest Huntresses in Remnant's history, but that fame has done much to affect her confidence in social situations. She finds herself separated from people, and thus arrives her semblance: polarity. With one of the strongest abilities I've ever seen, Pyrrha can actually control the magnetism of anything metal around her."

"Remarkable..."

"Next is Lie Ren. He is quiet, respectful, and his endurance isn't the best, but don't let that fool you. Ren has amazing control over his aura and skill on the battlefield, acting as what you call a _ninja_. But his main focus is on reigning-in and protecting his partner, Nora Valkyrie."

"Define _reigning-in_."

"Nora is a bit of a free-spirit. She's fast, spunky, and not afraid to speak her mind and act on impulse. She is a powerful fighter, especially if something happens to Ren."

"Yeah." I crossed my arms. "Crazy girl actually managed to break all of Arachnid's legs and take down half of the _Nemesis_ ' crew."

"That was while she, Arc, and Lie were in captivity, yes?"

"Indeed." Penny nodded. "Nora utilized her semblance in her escape. Her semblance allows her to absorb, control, and channel electricity straight into her muscles. This gives her unbelievable strength, speed, and height while jumping."

"Impressive."

"Next, we should move on to Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna. They are two of four members of Team RWBY, one of the best teams to ever walk through the halls of Beacon. Weiss is the heiress to the _Schnee Dust Company_ , making her an expert in all things Dust. She is a graceful fighter, using her semblance to conjure glyphs with various effects and all sorts of Dust."

"Hmm... Next."

"Blake Belladonna is a ninja-like fighter, much like Ren. She's quiet, loves books, and is fiercely loyal to and protective of her friends. However, she's also been known to run away if she deems it best for the people around her. Her semblance lets her leave a brief image of herself behind to throw the enemy off."

"Interesting."

"Lastly is Sun Wukong, leader of Team SSSN from Haven. Sun is a _Faunus_ , meaning that he is pretty much human, save for one distinct animal trait: his monkey tail. Being a Faunus also gives him better sight, hearing, and quicker reflexes and instincts. I've seen him fight, and he is amazing. His semblance allows him to make golden clones that explode on contact with the enemy."

" _Faunus_ , huh?"

"Yes. Sadly, on Remnant, there are many people who look down upon the Faunus as animals. It's terrible... They're just like us, and they deserve to be treated just like anyone else."

"You seem to feel strongly about this, Ms. Polendina. That's understandable, seeing your..." Bryce threw a file forward, showing the scans taken of Penny upon her arrival on Earth. "Situation." Penny took a deep breath. "Now... Your own backstory, Ms. Polendina?"

"Of course, sir..." Penny steadied herself, and I shook my head. Poor girl was still so afraid... "I am the first synthetic being capable of generating an aura."

"You have a soul?"

"Yes, sir. I was built in Atlas by my father, Professor Geppeto Polendina. He had assistance for General Ironwood of the Atlesian Military."

"Hmm... So, you were built for military purposes?"

"Yes-"

"With all due respect, Penny is no _weapon_ or _war-machine_ , sir." I interjected. "She can feel pain and emotion, and she can even cry. She was built to have every instinct and trait of a human being, and should be treated as such."

Penny looked at me with gratitude, and Bryce bowed his head.

"I did not mean to overstep... Ms. Polendina, how is it that you arrived on Earth?"

"Our method of arrival is uncertain. All we know is that there were space-bridges involved. Space-bridges that did not originate from the Autobots or the Decepticons."

"And, as to enemies from Remnant?"

"One is known for certain: Roman Torchwick. He is a master-thief, thought to have been killed during the Battle of Beacon in a fight against Ruby Rose. He survived, apparently, and he's searching or waiting for his partner: _Neopolitan_. We also suspect that Emerald Sustrai, a thief with the power to cause hallucinations, may have arrived. We're not sure who else may be here."

"Who is this _Ruby Rose_?"

"Ruby is the leader of Team RWBY and the last of the _Silver-Eyed Warriors_. She is the youngest Huntress to ever make it to Beacon, and one of the best I've ever seen."

"Ms. Polendina... Who do you believe will be the next of your friends to arrive?"

"... Whoever or whatever is doing this is being fairly specific. Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Sun and Neptune Vasilias of Team SSSN, and myself fought the people responsible for the Battle of Beacon. They want us specifically, so if I were to guess who would arrive next... Yang Xiao-Long, Neptune Vasilias, and Ruby Rose."

"And... Enemies?"

"Sir... If any of the evils from Remnant were to come here, I am uncertain as to our chances of victory."

"That bad?"

"... Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Adam Taurus, Neopolitan, and Emerald Sustrai (if she is not already here)."

"Do you mind providing roll for them, so we know what to look for?"

"No, sir... Cinder Fall is powerful, and that is an understatement. She's been known to fight with glass and explosions, and she is an excellent archer. And that was before she became the Fall Maiden."

" _Fall Maiden_?"

"On Remnant, we have magic. And each of the Seasons has a Maiden, who can control the forces of nature. Cinder Fall became the Fall Maiden by murdering the previous one."

"Hmmm... Next."

"Mercury Black, the son of the legendary assassin Marcus Black. He's as blood-thirsty as they come, no mercy or regret there. But he's got good reason. Records say that Mercury was horribly abused by his father, and their final fight resulted in so much damage to Mercury's legs that they had to be replaced."

"Damn..."

"Adam Taurus is an Elite White Fang member, and his mission is to pay humanity back in full for their discrimination towards the Faunus. He's been known to attack former-comrades, and he stabbed Blake in the stomach during the Battle of Beacon just before slicing Yang Xiao-Long's right arm off above the elbow. He doesn't make threats: he makes promises."

"What is the White Fang?"

"The White Fang is a terroristic organization made up of Faunus who resorted to violent extremes in order to gain equality."

"Next."

"Neopolitan is Roman Torchwick's henchwoman. She's mute as far as we can tell, and her semblance is remarkable to say the least. She can crest illusions with her mind that shatter to the touch, seemingly shatter and teleport, and she can change her full-body appearance with a single thought. She's a graceful, taunting, blood-thirsty fighter who won't hesitate when it comes to going for the kill."

"... Thank you for your time and this information, Ms. Polendina."

"It was no problem, sir!" Penny saluted. I smiled, leading her out of the room.

 ** _Well, this_** _ **shows what it would be like in** Grill **in this universe. I own nothing! Please read,** review **, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!**_


	21. Divide & Conquer (Penny)

I gasped in shock as Team Prime was hit by beams and locked in stasis, then ran forward and grabbed the Spark Extractor, running toward the _Nemesis_.

I noticed the blasters going over Fowler, but it noticed me and the Autobots... They could only pick up on machinery!

That's when I was hit by a beam, and everything went black.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

I exited stasis to find my fellow Huntsmen and Huntresses, and Ratchet, gazing at me with worry.

"What happened?" I asked. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"You've been in stasis for over three hours." Ratchet explained. "And now, we must hunt down the Iacon Relics before the Decepticons can."

"Okay..."

"Jack, Miko, Sun, Blake, Pyrrha: you're with Bumblebee and I." Arcee stated. "Weiss, Jaune, Penny: you're rolling out with Optimus. Bulkhead decided to go solo, and Ratchet will get help from Nora and Ren."

"Why should Bulkhead go alone?" Jaune frowned. "It might not be the best idea, seeing as how the 'Cons are just as desperate as we are."

"I'll be fine, _Vomit Boy_."

"Hey! Who told him-? PENNY!" Jaune turned and glared at me. I smiled innocently.

"I haven't the faintest ***hic*** idea what you're talking ***hic*** about."

It was time to roll out.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Optimus, Jaune, Weiss, and I arrived in Antarctica.

Jaune and Weiss shivered for a moment, then Jaune activated his aura to shield himself and Weiss adjusted to the Atlas-like conditions.

My systems gave me a countdown timer: how long they could hold out in the cold if I lost my aura. It was precisely fifteen minutes.

We arrived at the coordinates, only to find the Decepticons already there, so we went to confront them.

"Optimus Prime." Dreadwing glared. "I will request only once that you surrender the relic."

"I was about to request the same of you, Dreadwing." Optimus replied. Dreadwing scowled.

"Then, I would say that we are on equal footing, were it not that there are five of us and one of you."

"There's four of us!" Jaune shouted. Weiss and I nodded.

"Six of us, if you'd relieve me of these ridiculous manacles!" Starscream complained in the background. He was back?

Everyone was silent for a moment as tension grew. Weiss and Jaune drew their blades, and I readied to deploy my own, not taking my optics off of Dreadwing but wondering how the others were doing all the same.

 ** _/\_**

 _Jack and Miko were caught.  
_

 _"Hold it right there!" A man ordered through a microphone, a sweeper-train behind him. "What are you kids doin' down here?"_

 _"We're on a field-trip with our school, but we got lost." Miko tried. The man raised an eyebrow._

 _"Oh, really?"_

 _" **Leonard**! **Mira**!" Sun ran out of the subway tunnel, crossing his arms. "What were you thinking, leaving the tour-train?! You should have gone to the bathroom  before we left!" Sun pretended to notice the man, then he turned to Jack and Miko and glared. "Now, look! This is exactly why people hate tourists! I'm sorry about this, sir! I'll just get my two idiot friends out of your way!"_

 _" **Mr. Apollo**!" The voice of Pyrrha shouted. "Get **Mr. Smith** and **Ms. Hamata** back here, now!"_

 _"Coming, ma'am!" Sun replied, then grabbed Jack and Miko by the ears and dragged them back. "Bye! Sorry! We're on our way, **Ms. Achilles**!"_

 _The man scratched his head, looking confused._

 _"Did that kid have a tail?"_

 ** _/\_**

 _A ground-bridge opened as Wheeljack tossed a bomb into the air out of boredom, three figures emerging._

 _"Wheeljack!" Nora cheered, smiling brightly. "It's so good to see you!" The Wrecker grinned._

 _"Hey, look who it is. My favorite **leg-breaker**... The boss thought you needed backup, huh?"_

 _"If you must know..." Ratchet glared, not happy. "Optimus feels strongly that you required supervision... Not that you're the only one."_

 _"I'm an **emotional time-bomb**!" Nora announced, sounding far too happy and innocent. Ren face-palmed._

 _"I'll be sure to be on my best behavior, **Doc**." Wheeljack smirked. Ratchet turned, still angry._

 _"Please, refrain from calling me **Doc**."_

 _"Whatever you say, **Sunshine**."_

 _"Ooh!" Nora smiled brightly. "You could also use **Cranky** , **Grumpy** , **Grampa** , **Gramps** -" The list went on for fifteen more minutes._

 _Wheeljack's smirk only grew, and Ratchet deadpanned._

 _"How could you come up with this many nicknames?!"_

 ** _/\_**

Everyone drew their weapons, Dreadwing firing at Optimus. Weiss stabbed her blade into the ground, creating an icy wall for cover.

"Nice thinking!" Jaune smiled. Optimus nodded, then peered around the side and kept firing.

I raised my hands and summoned my blades, firing dozens of lasers at the 'Cons and taking out the Vehicons easily. I smirked as Starscream cowered in fear, readying to fire.

That's when one of Dreadwing's blasts shattered the ice-wall, and we were thrown back.

"Penny!" Weiss shouted. " _Ice-Bolt_!" One of the attacks we'd come up with, in Ruby's style.

"Affirmative!" I saluted, running over to her as she summoned a glyph and raising my blades. Then, I shot my blades forward and through the glyph, both covering them in ice and speeding them up as they flew at the 'Con.

While he recovered, bleeding Energon, Optimus created an avalanche that buried Dreadwing.

I saw Starscream trying to escape, and I rolled my optics before firing a blast that rendered him in stasis.

"Come on." Jaune gestured. "They won't be out for long."

 ** _/\_**

 _"AAAAAH!" Knockout screamed, he and his forces floating in the air, surrounded by black light. Pyrrha smirked, looking over at Arcee and the others with her hands held over her head._

 _"Arcee, get the relic. Everyone else... Go crazy."_

 _Sun, Blake, and Bumblebee drew their weapons. Jack and Miko picked up some rocks._

 _"Scrap." Knockout deadpanned. "WATCH THE FINISH!"_

 ** _/\_**

 _"This should be fun." Wheeljack commented, only for his optics to widen as several pink blasts struck Soundwave, throwing him back toward the end of the rock-formation._

 _Nora Valkyrie stood there, glaring venomously._

 _"That was for Jaune." She hissed, then perked up. "Let's break his legs!"_

 _"Nora?" Wheeljack asked, amused as Soundwave tried and failed to get up in the background. "Why do you like breaking legs so much?"_

 _"I don't know." Nora shrugged, changing Magnhild back into a hammer. "Maybe it stems from that time when I was little, and I saw these boys bulling Ren, and I got angry, and I used a smaller hammer to break their legs."_

 _"... You really are an **emotional time-bomb**."_

 _"Yep!"_

 ** _/\_**

We arrived at a human base, Fowler waking up and clearing it, and we arrived to find the frozen relic. Weiss drew her blade, activating Fire-Dust, melting the ice off.

"The Apex Armor." Optimus glared. "It is of Decepticon origin, compatible with any host. It increases strength, and it is near-indestructible."

We all looked at Jaune.

"What?!" Jaune asked. "I do not need indestructible armor to be good in a fight, guys! This is the faith you have in me?! I mean, come on!"

That's when Dreadwing arrived, becoming locked in battle with Optimus. We watched in dismay, only for a conscious Starscream to leap out of the building in the Apex Armor, joining the fight.

"Stay back!" Optimus warned, then was knocked aside. That's when Starscream made a mistake...

"I haven't had this much fun since I punched a hole in Cliffjumper!" He cackled. My optics widened, then I gritted my teeth in rage.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" I asked, clenching my fists as Starscream turned to me. The Decepticon laughed.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't one of the Autobot's pitiful, human pets." He smirked cruelly. He didn't know... "What are you going to do? Throw a snowball? Cry because I offlined-?"

I deployed my weapons and kneeled, drawing my arms back to increase power as my laser got ready to fire, growing angrier and angrier.

"Three words, Starscream." I glared. "I'm. No. HUMAN!"

With that, I fired at the ground and created a hole so deep that Starscream fell through the ice and into the ocean far below.

Optimus tried to convince Dreadwing to stop fighting, join the side of good, but as always: he didn't.

"You saved my life, Autobot." He looked down at me. "I will terminate you the next time we meet."

"I wouldn't expect it any other way." I smiled, bowing my head. The Decepticon's optics widened slightly, then he transformed and departed.

 ** _/\_**

 _"It's not **Mole-People**." The train-man told his coworkers, eyes wide. "It's **Monkey -People**!"_

 ** _/\_**

 _"I'll miss you!" Nora smiled, waving as Ren and Ratchet went through the ground-bridge. "Thanks for letting me break Soundwave's legs!"_

 _"No problem, kid." Wheeljack smiled, then raised an optic-brow. "Say... Why are you an **emotional time-bomb**?"_

 _"Oh, I don't know." Nora sighed. "I guess I just live in constant fear of everyone thinking I'm a failure, my friends slowly abandoning me to preserve their social status, not being able to show my face in public, no one sitting with me during meals, and I have no parents so I would have no home left to go to even if I was on Remnant, and MY LIFE IS A COMPLETE LIE!" Nora let out a few sobs, then perked up, smiled, and waved. "Or something like that! Bye!"_

 _With that, Nora popped into the ground-bridge, leaving a fairly concerned Wheeljack._

 ** _/_**

 _Nora arrived at Base just as Ratchet had to open another ground-bridge._

 _An injured Bulkhead walked through, followed by a tiny figure._

 _"Guess who?!"_

 _ **Uh-oh. Who's arrived, now? I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!**_


	22. New Arrivals (Bulkhead)

There I was, facing three Insecticons while being weakened by Tox-En. I was knocked to the ground, and everything went blurry as I was cornered by Hardshell, the leader of the group.

"Your spark is mine, _Wrecker_." Just before the Insecticon could try and finish me off, once and for all...

"HEY!" A voice snapped. We looked to see a human girl dressed in yellow, orange, and brown. My optics widened as I realized that one of her arms was cybernetic, mostly gold with some red, black, and white. She looked livid, and as she slammed her fists together, her yellow hair lit on fire and her eyes glowed bright-red. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

The girl leapt into the air, punching and firing ammunition from the gauntlets on her wrists.

Landing, the girl caught an Insecticon's fist with her bare hands. Hair and eyes glowing brighter, she reared her metal fist back and punched the bug, sending it flying into the magma pit. Then, the girl fired a blast that hit the second in the spark, killing it instantly.

"What are you?!" The lead Insecticon asked. The girl smirked.

"Just a kid from Patch." She replied, then punched him into the magma pit as well, firing a few times, the sound of a spark being extinguished heard. I gaped as the girl looked back, her hair and eyes fading to normal and purple. "Well, I guess my work here's done... You wouldn't happen to have seen a _girl in a red hood_ , would you? Or a _girl in black with a bow in her hair_? A _girl in white, kinda bratty_? Heck, I'd settle for finding _Vomit Boy_..."

"You mean Blake, Weiss, and Jaune?" I asked. The girl immediately smiled.

"That's them!"

"They're with my team, safe." I promised. "I wanted to take this mission, solo."

"Ah, so you're the me of your team." The girl smirked. "You must be a real wrecking-machine, _Big Guy_... The name is Yang Xiao-Long."

Yang Xiao-Long

The powerful, fiery-tempered girl from Penny's stories.

The one I instantly knew was Wrecker-material.

"Bulkhead."

"Nice..." Yang looked at the chunk of Tox-En. "I'm guessing that's poison, and that you're trying to destroy it in the volcano." I nodded. "I'm also guessing that you didn't expect this." Yang picked the chunk up with no effort.

"Kid-"

"Don't worry! If anything, this'll just make me stronger." Yang threw the chunk in the pit. "Call your friends for pickup. I'll need my teammates to find Ruby."

" _Ruby_? Penny's friend?"

" _Penny_?" Yang frowned. Then, her eyes widened. "Penny's **_alive_**?!"

 ** _/\_**

Ratchet helped me through the ground-bridge, Yang following. The Blonde-Brawler threw her arms out, smiling deviously.

"Guess who?!"

"Who's that?" Fowler asked. I sighed, shaking my helm.

"The kid who just took down three Insecticons, solo." I replied. Yang placed a hand on her hip.

"Yang Xiao-Long, AKA _your worst nightmare_." She replied, smirking. Nora and Ren ran over.

"YAY!" Nora cheered, crushing Yang in a hug. "My fellow _leg-breaker_ has arrived!" Yang laughed.

"Good to see you too, Nora." Yang looked up. "Ren."

"It is good to see you, Yang." Ren smiled, then looked down. "Your arm..." Yang sighed, shaking her head.

"I know." She frowned. Ratchet went to the controls and opened another bridge, Optimus returning with Weiss, Jaune, and Penny. "Weiss!"

"Yang?!" Weiss ran over and hugged the blonde, then pulled away and stared at her robot arm. "You..?"

"Yeah." Yang nodded. "I'm back in the game."

"Sensational!" Penny beamed. Yang immediately ran over and crushed her in a hug.

"YOU STUPID GINGE!" Yang laughed. "I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU'RE OKAY!"

"Please, let go!" Penny whined. Yang looked at Jaune.

"Hey, Jaune."

"Hey, Yang." The boy smiled. I was situated on the med-berth, and 'Bee and Arcee returned with Miko, Jack, Pyrrha, Sun, and Blake. Pyrrha and Jack hopped off Arcee, the rest getting out of 'Bee.

"Blake?" Yang's eyes widened. The girl backed up.

"Yang, I'm so sorry. I-" Blake was crushed when Yang ran over and hugged her. The blonde pulled away, glaring.

"DON'T YOU EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN!" She ordered. "I woke up, and you were **gone**! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"

"Y-you're not mad at me?"

"Nope! But I swear, _partner_ , that if you ever run away again, I will break my promise and use that _laser-pointer_! You know I will!"

"Hey, Yang." Sun beamed. Yang looked up and smiled.

"Sun... Pyrrha?" Yang walked over, staring at the girl in shock. "Impossible. Ruby saw you **_die_**!"

Everything went quiet.

"What?" Pyrrha asked. Yang covered her mouth with her real hand.

"She got to the top of the tower as the arrow hit... She saw Cinder turn you to ashes!" All eyes were wide. "You can't be here, you're dead!"

"Yang, I'm not dead." Pyrrha assured. "I don't know what you're talking about." The blonde took a step back.

"Pyrrha." Penny frowned. "On the _Nemesis_ , you saved your team after flying up as burning embers." Pyrrha gripped the sides of her head.

"This can't be. I'm alive. I'm alive!" Pyrrha let some tears fall. "N-Nurse Darby patched me up! The arrow was in my chest, and she saved me! I don't know how that _embers_ _thing_ happened, but **_I'm alive!_** " Yang stepped forward.

"Pyrrha... You died on that tower, but now you're back. I don't know how, but what's done is done. You're back now, that's all that matters. Calm down."

"Oh my God..." Pyrrha looked ready to pass out, then took some deep breaths. I was surprised as, after a few moments, the Amazon opened her eyes and frowned. "Well, seeing the evidence, we only have to wait for two more people: Neptune and Ruby." Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"Why just them?"

"When isn't it the eleven of us?"

"Good point..." Sun laughed to himself, shaking his head. "You know what would be really bad? If bad guys started showing up."

"Roman Torchwick is here." Penny rem indeed him. "Not to mention those we haven't encountered, yet."

Lo and behold, a space-bridge openedin the center of the floor.

"Who's it gonna be?!" Nora hid behind Ren. "A good guy?! Maybe a teacher... Or Cinder?! Her boss?! Adam Taurus?! White Fang members?! Maybe that Emerald, or Mercury..." Two figures fell through. The first was...

"Zwei!" Yang picked the dog up and hugged it, beaming. Then, everyone noticed the second. The girl sat up, rubbing the back of her head and looking around with wide eyes. "YOU!" The tiny girl scrambled away, looking terrified as Yang dropped the dog in her hands and marched up.

"Whoa, easy!" Arcee shouted. "What's wrong?!"

"Neo." Yang glared. The pink/brown/white-wearing girl looked around, eyes white and terrified as her hand closed around an umbrella.

"That's _Neo_?!" Jaune asked. The girl looked around at us Autobots, still not making a sound but looking like she wanted to scream. "What do we do?!" Neo opened her umbrella as Yang threw a punch, shattering and reappearing several meters away. She tried to get to her feet but fell, gripping her right leg with her face expressing pain.

"She's injured." Ratchet noticed. Yang cracked her knuckles.

"Makes my job easier." The brawler approached Neo, and the girl looked around frantically.

I could see the calculations going in her head.

She was surrounded by giant robots, Huntsmen, and Huntresses in an environment she didn't recognize. She was injured, and alone.

She didn't stand a chance.

Yang raised her metal fist, but...

"Stop!" Optimus ordered. Yang froze in place.

"One good reason: fast."

"She is injured."

"If roles were reversed, she'd kill me. She's tried."

"She poses no threat."

"You haven't seen the things she can do. I have. She's a monster."

"I will not condone the loss of any human life."

"I'm not so sure she's human." Yang looked livid. "She tried to kill me, to kill Ruby. She's Torchwick's flunky. She..." The blonde brawler paused as Neo's eyes filled with tears, and the girl started silently sobbing. "What's with you?"

" _Torchwick_..." Jaune's eyes widened. "Oh, man. Ruby told us that Torchwick got eaten by a Gryphon after she threw Neo off the ship."

Yang's expression softened, and she got down on one knee, studying Neo carefully with narrowed eyes. The girl blinked back the tears and met Yang's eyes, and they remained in silence for a few moments

"If you try anything, I'll kill you." Yang promised, then stood and backed away.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Jack's mother was called, and she tended to Neo's injuries.

"Honestly, what kind of planet lets these sort of things happen to children?" Nurse Darby asked, looking at Yang's arm. Yang had told her story, how Adam Taurus had removed her arm at the Battle of Beacon and how a grieving Professor Polendina had built her a new one. Penny cried when she was reminded of her father and how hurt he had to be, so Bumblebee was trying to cheer her up a few meters away. "Or let's children fight their wars, for that matter?" Neo shrugged, bringing June's attention back to her. "How old are you, anyway?" No reply. "You don't need to be scared. We won't hurt you." Neo looked down, then placed a hand to her throat, shaking her head.

"She... Can't talk." Jack realized. It all went silent. Bumblebee looked over, expression filled with pity.

"I'm sorry." Nurse Darby apologized. "Did something happen?" Neo looked down, sighing.

Then, Penny glared and walked over, placing a hand on Neo's shoulder and smiling.

"The time for bad news shall come to an end... Roman Torchwick is alive." All went silent as Neo's teary eyes widened, then turned strawberry-pink as a smile broke across her face. "He's working on the wrong side, but if you help us, we will spare him and let you both start new, crime-free lives." Neo nodded enthusiastically, then mimed something with her hands.

"What's she trying to say?" Jaune asked, frowning. Pyrrha's eyes narrowed, and she stepped forward.

"Repeat?" She asked. Neo made the motions. " _A_ _threat_?" Neo nodded. Nora gasped.

"Ruby said that on the ship, she asked Torchwick what he got out of Cinder's plan!" The girl realized. "And he replied _it's not what I have to gain, it's that I can't afford to lose_!" Neo drew a line across her throat.

"Blackmail." Jack crossed his arms. "Not everyone in on this plan was willing... It was help this Cinder lady or **die**." Neo gestured to herself. "He was protecting you?" Neo nodded, then mimed. "You were protecting him?" Neo nodded again, miming. "You two look out for each other?" Neo nodded, then mimed several other things. One motion involved miming two horns on her head. Blake frowned.

"Adam." She translated. "Pyrrha, what's the rest?"

"She said _he was blackmailed, too_." The Amazon announced. Neo made more motions. "She's says that _Mercury_ and _Emerald_ told her, once. _Cinder came to the White Fang camp and slaughtered everyone besides Adam and his second-in-command. Then, she offered him Dust, lien, and equality for the Faunus._ " Blake's eyes were wide.

"That's why..." As the girl stared, Sun placed a hand on her shoulder. "I knew it. He would never..." Neo mimed two more things. The first was two lines from her hair, then a kick from each foot.

"Emerald and Mercury?" Weiss asked. Neo nodded. "They were blackmailed, too?!" A nod. "Was there anyone on Cinder's side that wasn't being threatened?!" Neo considered this, then shook her head, frowning.

"This Cinder sounds like Megatron." I scoffed. "Using threats and power to get whatever they want."

"Wait..." Sun frowned. "You said Torchwick was working with the bad guys?" Arcee nodded.

"Yeah. He told MECH all about Penny. Why do you ask?"

"While MECH held me prisoner, they mentioned their last informant. They said _he ran off_."

"What?" Blake asked. "Why would Torchwick run from a partnership that could be beneficial?"

"I don't know. They said _he was looking for ice-cream_ or something." Sun shrugged, and Neo jolted. She began pointing to herself.

"He's looking for you?" Jaune asked. Neo nodded, then ran over to the wall-mounted white-board.

She wrote _Neo_ , then added several more letters to the end.

" _ **Neo** politan_." Yang crossed her arms, smirking. "Figures you'd be named after that."

"Why would he be looking for you?" I asked. "Yang said you were just _Torchwick's flunky_." Neo shook her head, writing something else.

 _Partners_.

 ** _Neo, Yang, and ZWEIIIIIIII! Seriously, did you really think I could leave them out?! Who will be the next to arrive?! What trouble awaits?! I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	23. Rookies (Guess Who?)

I woke up, my vision blurry as a swirl of green glowed above me. Then, the green faded, and I sat up, looking around a forest.

"What..?" I raised an eyebrow, then shook out of it. "What?!" I scrambled to my feet, grabbing my weapon. "What?! Where am I?!" I pulled out a mirror and checked my reflection, eyes narrowed. "At least I'm still looking decent. Gotta be cool..."

That's when I heard an explosion, and I ran towards it.

 ** _/\_**

My eyes widened as I watched the giant robots fighting (colorful vs. dark), hiding behind a rock..

"So cool..." I stared. Something poked my back.

"What are you?" A slightly-robotic voice asked. I froze up, realizing what had to be behind me, then turned around.

"Giant robot..." I stared. The silver, red, and blue thing raised a metal eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm just as weirded-out as you are."

"Uh-huh... Please, don't kill me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Uh... I don't know? You're a giant robot, and those other giant robots have REALLY big guns-" I suddenly heard a familiar shout of pain, my eyes widening. "Weiss?!" I turned and looked back at the battle.

Now, I noticed all of the people fighting alongside the colorful robots.

Penny, alive and in one piece.

Pyrrha, alive and not all... _Ashy_?

Jaune.

Nora.

Ren.

Blake, back with the others.

Sun, watching her back as they fought.

Some little pink-brown-white-wearing girl with an umbrella.

Yang, her arm replaced by a badass robotic one.

Weiss, having been knocked back by a blast from the dark-robots, slowly trying to get back on her feet.

The silver robot and I exchanged glances, nodded once, then charged into the fight, guns blazing.

"Down in front!" Silver yelled, leaping over the colorful-robots and firing at the dark-robots. I ran over and helped Weiss to her feet, firing at the dark-robots as she stared at me.

"Miss me, _Snow Angel_?" I asked, giving a small smirk. Weiss blinked a few times, then gasped as a blue liquid on the ground ignited, grabbing my arm.

"Run!" We ducked behind a rock with the others just as a HUGE explosion went off, and when it ended, I smirked again as everyone stared at me.

"Hey."

"Finally!" Sun grinned. I locked my eyes on him and glared, marching over and punching his shoulder.

"Where the Hell have you been?! It's been months! We were walking to our dorms, and you just vanished!"

"I've been here." Sun explained. "It's a long story, man. But to put it in the simplest terms: we're on another planet caught up in an alien-robot war."

"... What?"

"The war between the Autobots and the Decepticons." Penny chimed in. "This planet, called Earth, is inhabited by humans with simpler technology yet the ability to travel in space, and the Cybertronian race has chosen to do battle here in secret due to the presence of Energon: the fuel and lifeblood of both factions... Sal-u-tations, Neptune Vasilias! My name is Penny, it's a pleasure to meet you! I saw you compete in the tournament, and I have heard much about you from your teammate!" I blinked a few times, stunned, then...

"How are you alive?!" I looked at Pyrrha and Penny. "What did I miss?!" Pyrrha crossed her arms.

"A lot."

Meanwhile, Silver and the colorful-robots were also talking. Something about some Alpha Trion person and Halogen or whatever.

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

Eventually, another one of those swirly-green things opened, and my friends convinced me to go though to ANOTHER PLACE! Teleportation, so cool!

So, the others showed me around, I was introduced to all of the Autobots, their Earth-human allies (who were kids), and Neo. Penny caught me up on all that had happened.

"So, wait..?" I was trying to piece it all together. "You and Pyrrha don't know how you're alive, JN(P)R was captured and tortured by these Decepticons, Pyrrha can turn into ashes and fly but doesn't know how to trigger it, Sun was almost dissected by these MECH assholes, Neo is a bad-guy turned good, we're in the middle of a war, and we're all here because of some crazy-alien-robot prophecy about Ruby?"

"Indeed!"

"... That's it! I can't take it anymore! I can't handle this!" I turned and walked away, unable to get a mental-grip on this. "I'm going to go and talk to Smokescreen! Us rookies gotta stick together!"

 ** _/\_**

I walked over to Jack and Smokescreen, hands in my pockets as they toured the hallways.

"'Sup?" I greeted, and the two turned to me. "Mind if I hide from Miko with you guys?"

"No." Jack shook his head, laughing. "I guess someone should apologize for her, since she never will."

"Eh. She's not that bad... I'm also hiding from Weiss."

"Why?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "I mean, she's a little cold at times, but she's not that bad."

"Look, it's a long story." I tried. "But I can't stand Jaune, Yang, Blake, and Sun smirking at me whenever I'm anywhere near her."

"Wait, you mean-?" Jack smirked. "Oh." I glared, and he raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not saying anything... So, you're Sun's partner in crime?"

"You don't know the half of it." I replied, walking next to Jack and Smokescreen. "I mean, he's gotten me in and out of trouble more times than I can count. And recently, it's been Team RWBY's fault as much as his."

"Team RWBY." Jack frowned. "Penny talks about them a lot. It's Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Yang's sister-?"

"Ruby." I nodded. "Tough little kid... I hope she's alright, because wherever she is, she's alone."

"She can handle herself, right?"

"I'm not sure. After Penny vanished, Ruby kinda... Snapped. She took on a Giant Nevermore alone, and she went after Torchwick and Neo, and I saw her snap even more after Ren and Nora and Blake and Yang got hurt and Jaune and Pyrrha were missing, and she was the only one who saw Pyrrha, and she was sent into a coma to wake up to a world changed... I just hope that she's intact. That she hasn't changed too much."

"Hey, if she's anywhere near as strong as Yang, she'll be fine."

"Right... So, how'd you get wrapped up in this?"

"I really liked this motorcycle I found in a parking lot. Turned out to be an alien robot. Who knew?"

"Thad rough, buddy." I looked up at Smokescreen, crossing my arms. "How's your first day going? Mine sucks."

"Uh..?"

" _Sucks_ basically means _is bad_."

"Oh... Yeah, mine sucks."

"Seriously, this is probably right up there with the day I met Team RWBY and Team JNPR."

"How'd you meet them?" Jack asked. I stopped short.

 ** _"I'M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE! I'M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE!"_**

 ** _"JUSTICE WILL BE SWIFT! JUSTICE WILL BE PAINFUL! IT WILLL BE DELICIOUS!"_**

 ** _"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"_**

 ** _"I love these guys!"_**

 ** _"Children, please! Do not play with your food!"_**

"I don't want to talk about it."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

So, the Autobots found a picture of this _Red-Energon_ stuff online, and they decided that they needed to confiscate it from humans. Some Agent Fowler guy said that it had been moved to some docks, so Optimus, Arcee, Bumblebee, Penny, Sun, Pyrrha, and Neo went to secure it.

Meanwhile, Jack and I tried to help Smokescreen find an Earth-based vehicle mode, and I learned more about Earth from Jack.

"So... You guys don't have airships?"

"Nope."

"But... You can go into space?"

"Yep."

"And humanity has been to your moon?"

"Yep. And I've been to Cybertron."

"But... Won't your moon shatter with you on it?"

"Wait, what?!"

"Our moon phases make our moon shatter and reform. Don't yours?"

"... Ours just gets sent into shadow and brought back into light."

"Really? That's weird."

 ** _/\_**

 _"Fowler couldn't have the crane operator lower the thing?" Arcee asked, looking up at the crate. Pyrrha stepped forward, gazing at it._

 _"I believe that I can help with that." She announced, raising her hands. The crane glowed black, and Pyrrha focused, the crate lowering a few inches._

 _"Run along home, Autobots and your puny human pets." A voice spoke. Starscream stood there. "That Red-Energon has my name written all over it!" Starscream donned the Apex Armor. "And I am more than willing to fight for it."_

 _"Pyrrha, can you-?" Sun gestured. Pyrrha raised her hands, and the armor glowed, but..._

 _"I can't." Pyrrha announced, her eyes widening. "The amount energy running through the armor is preventing me from controlling it."_

 _"You can't control that, but you can control the **Nemesis**?" Arcee asked. "Wouldn't that mean that the armor..? We are so scrapped."_

 _"Secure the Red-Energon and have Ratchet bridge it back to base." Optimus ordered. Arcee and Bumblebee nodded, Pyrrha running off to help them. Optimus looked down at Penny, Neo, and Sun. "Go, I shall handle this."_

 _"Okay, but first-!" Sun ran forward and put his hands together, and he made two of his glowing-golden clones. They charged at Starscream, exploded on contact, and did absolutely nothing to the armor or the Decepticon inside. "Yep... I've got nothing."_

 _Starscream suddenly charged and swatted Sun aside, sending the boy flying head-first into a shipping container and knocking him out._

 _Optimus fired as Penny and Neo dodged the 'Con, and the Prime was also thrown into shipping-containers._

 _"Don't tell me you've forgotten our last encounter, Prime!" Starscream smirked, and Neo ran off as Penny stood between the Prime and the Decepticon. "You."_

 _Penny whipped out her blades and dropped down onto one knee, preparing her most powerful laser-attack. She fired, but when the smoke cleared, Starscream and the armor were unharmed. Penny's eyes widened as Starscream picked her up, and she yelled in surprised as she was tossed toward the bay._

 _Luckily, Bumblebee reached out and caught her as he, Arcee, and Pyrrha climbed the crane so Pyrrha could gain a better control of the crate, away from the fight._

 _Starscream knew that he had some time, so he turned back to Optimus. He was having far too much fun laying waste to the Autobots and their allies._

 _Suddenly, a small flash of pink/brown/white ran between the recovering Optimus and Starscream. Neo raised her umbrella and opened it, glaring as everyone's eyes/optics widened._

 _She wasn't even bothering with what Yang called her **usual routine** , where she would taunt her enemy to the point of rage and recklessness._

 _"Neopolitan, move!" Optimus ordered. Neo promptly ignored the Autobot Leader, choosing to stare-down Starscream as he approached._

 _"Why, you're even smaller than the last of your kind to arrive here!" Starscream laughed, raising his hand to bat the young woman aside. Neo looked back at Optimus, then gritted her teeth as the hand made contact..._

 _Optimus and Neo shattered like glass, and the reappeared several meters away. Neo stumbled and collapsed on the ground, exhausted from the effort, slipping into unconsciousness._

 _"Neo!" Arcee exclaimed, worried. The Decepticon started walking over to the crane._

 ** _/\_**

We returned to Base, after Smokescreen got some awesome new wheels, just in time to hear...

 _ **:** Starscream has come for the Red Energon. **:**_ A beaten-sounding Optimus reported. _**:** And I fear that he will not be deterred in his quest... Neopolitan and Sun are down. Call Nurse Darby. **:**_

"Sun?!" Blake and I asked as Smokescreen told Ratchet to send him in. Team JN(P)R looked worried about Pyrrha, Weiss was pacing, and Yang crossed her arms, looking down.

I looked up as Smokescreen's optics narrowed, and he walked off. I decided to follow him and see what he was planning on doing.

 ** _/\_**

 _"The higher you climb, the harder you FALL!" Starscream shouted, climbing up after Bumblebee, Arcee, Penny, and Pyrrha. The Autobots and the two Huntresses made it to the top, Bumblebee and Penny firing their weapons at Starscream as Pyrrha and Arcee ran to the end of the crane. "Autobots: such slow learners!"_

 _Below, Optimus tried to get the unconscious Sun and Neo out of harm's way. The Prime noticed that Neo was growing even more pale than normal, her body-temperature rising._

 _Optimus turned and left the two, starting to climb the crane while the others held Starscream's attention._

 _Little did he or anyone else know, two dark-green eyes narrowed in anger as they watched the scene. A gloved hand lowered a lit cigar, the other hand raising a weapon and aiming it._

 _A shrieking blast shot at Starscream and actually managed to knock him off the crane. The Decepticon made a grab for the Red-Energon, but another blast sent him flying into a crate._

 _The dark figure on the shipping containers gave a nod to his work, looking down at Neo with worry and remorse, then turned and departed into the night._

 ** _/\_**

Smokescreen and I arrived to see a giant robot lifting up a crane with Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee, Pyrrha, and Penny on it. I leapt out of Smoke's vehicle-mode as he transformed, and I aimed my gun at the Decepticon.

"So, the Autobots have a new recruit and another new pet?" The giant robot asked, smirking. I glared, but Smokescreen kept his cool.

"And you must be Starscream." The rookie-Autobot began. "I thought you'd be taller." I raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you say that this guy wears stilettos?" I asked. Starscream growled, quickly getting angry. Good.

"Smokescreen, Neptune: stand down!" We heard Optimus order from above. "You stand no chance against Starscream's Apex Armor."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence!" I held a thumb up as I changed my gun into a trident. "I appreciate it!" Starscream was overconfident.

"Any last words, rookies?"

"Just four." Smokescreen replied. "Kiss your armor _goodbye_." Smokescreen and I charged, Smoke using the Phase-Shifter to kick Starscream (who really wasn't as big as I thought) out of the armor. I ran around the armor as it collapsed, stabbed, and electrocuted the recovering 'Con into unconsciousness. Smoke and I laughed, high-fiving as best as we could. "Now, that was a plan!"

"Rookies: two! Decepticons: zero!" I agreed, pointing up at the nonbelievers as they gaped at us. "In your two-ton metal faces!"

Starscream somehow woke up and fired a missile at the Red-Energon, but Pyrrha redirected it back at him with her polarity. Still, the 'Con managed to get away with a small chunk of the Red-Energon... But at least we got the rest of it! And we got the Apex Armor, too!

With the battle over, we all quickly ran over to Sun and Neo. Sun was waking up, but as for Neo...

"Oh no." Pyrrha kneeled next to the girl, raising a hand to her forehead. "It's aura-exhaustion." All of us from Remnant tensed up.

" _Aura-exhaustion_?" Arcee asked. "What does that mean?" I crossed my arms, shaking my head.

"When our auras are unlocked and we find our semblance, we're all warned. If we try to overuse our power, we can burn ourselves out. Literally."

"It's especially dangerous if you try to use your power for two people at once." Penny agreed. "Ruby once came close to burning herself out when she helped me using her speed... And I'm her size." Optimus' optics widened.

"You mean..?"

"Neo might have burnt herself out to protect Optimus." Sun bowed his head. "I can't believe it." Arcee gently gathered Neo in her servos, making sure to get her umbrella.

"We might be able to save her." Penny stated as I helped Sun to his feet and supported him. "But we need to get her to Nurse Darby."

 ** _/\/\/\/\_**

We bridged back to Base, and Nurse Darby (Jack's mom) was waiting there. I guess Penny knew some doctor-stuff, because she and the nurse got to work right away.

We told everyone what happened, and Optimus looked like he wanted to be sick (if a robot can look that way). Yang had her head bowed.

"I really thought that she'd betray us the first chance she got." Yang admitted, all of us looking over at her. "I was wrong... I can't believe she did that."

"What she did... It sorta reminds me of that night under the highway." Weiss gave a small laugh. "We fought Torchwick in the Paladin, we broke his armor, and Neo saved Torchwick from you, Yang... She really made our plans _fall apart_." Blake punched Weiss in the arm jokingly.

"Still not funny." Blake teased, then looked up at the Autobots, Pyrrha, Sun, and Penny. "You say that there were blasts that made whistling-sounds?" They nodded. "I think that might have actually been Torcwick."

"He is protective over his _flunky_ \- I mean _partner_." Jaune agreed. "From Ruby's stories, after Ruby sent her flying _Mary-Poppins_ -style, Torchwick completely lost his cool."

"You have _Mary Poppins_ on Remnant?" Raf asked, confused. Nora nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, yeah! She's a famous Huntress who home-schools rich kids who want to become Huntsmen and Huntresses! Very lethal!" The Earth-humans blinked a few times, stunned, then managed to shake out of it.

"Childhood: ruined." I heard Jack mutter angrily, crossing his arms. What was that all about?

"We've got her on life-support." Nurse Darby finally announced. "She's stabilizing..." She saw all of our expressions and smiled. "I think that Neo will be alright."

"Thank the Allspark." Optimus sighed in relief. Poor guy really cared about humans, didn't he?

"Well..." I clapped my hands together. "Day one on another planet. It all went to complete Hell, but hey: at least we're all alive... I wonder what Sage and Scarlet are up to."

 ** _/\_**

 _Scarlet and Sage looked around an empty dorm-room at Haven, shaking their heads and sighing._

 _"What has the world gone to?" Sage finally asked. "All of these disappearances... I mean, first it was Ozpin, then it was Blake running away, then Team JN(P)R vanished, then Weiss, then Sun, then Yang, and now Neptune. Even our enemies seem to be vanishing into thin air." Scarlet nodded in agreement._

 _"Yeah. It's only a matter of time before it's the teachers, the headmasters, the government, the military, the businessmen, or even us... This isn't good, Sage."_

 _"Hey, guys!" A voice greeted. The boys turned around with wide eyes as someone in the doorway with crossed arms. "You've seen it, too?" The boys slowly nodded. "I guess we're in this together, then... Let's hatch a plan!"_

 ** _/\_**

 _A man walked down a sidewalk in a coastal city, spinning a cane on his fingers and acting like he owned the place. He turned into an alleyway and leaned against the wall, lowering the cigar from his mouth as he went to retrieve something from his coat._

 _He pulled out a file and opened it, giving a small smirk. It was MECH's back-up, material information on the Autobots. A map, sightings pointed out all around a small town._

 _"Jasper, Nevada, huh?" He mused. "Not like I have anything else to do. But how do I get there..?" The cigar was raised to his mouth once more. "Guess it's time to do what I do best. Lie, steal, cheat, and survive."_

 _ **HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm baaaack! This chapter was so much fun to write!**_

 _ **We've got Neptune, and he's not being a goofball in fight-scenes like in most of the show! We've got Neo playing on the good-guy team! We've got TORCHWICK (sorry, one of my favorite characters (RIP, you will be avenged))! We've got Scarlet and Sage making an appearance! Who is their companion..? *smirk***_

 ** _I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!_**


	24. Lost Penny Chibi!

In a white oblivion, a Chibi-Penny suddenly popped up, gazing around with wide eyes before looking forward. She raised an eyebrow, then smiled and waved, closing her optics.

"Sal-u-tations! My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow, confused. "Um, excuse me? Where am I?"

"Trust me, you don't wanna know." A voice replied. Penny's optics widened as she turned to see a silver-eyed girl in a red hood, who waved and smiled. "Hey, Penny!"

"Ruby!" Penny squealed, tackling her best friend in a tight hug. "I've missed you so much! I can't wait for you to meet my new friends!" Penny pulled away, beaming in her excitement. "Their names are Jack, Raf, Miko, Special Agent William Fowler, Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Ratchet, Smokescreen, Wheeljack, and Optimus Prime! They are very nice! You will just love them!"

"Um... Okay?"

"Let's go!" Penny ran off, dragging Ruby by her wrist along with her. Ruby let out a quick shout of surprise, which echoed as the two vanished from sight.

 ** _/\_** ** _/\_** ** _/\_** ** _/\_**

Neptune rode shotgun in Smokescreen's vehicle-mode as they patrolled some forest, looking for 'Cons. That's when rain started to fall and splatter on the windshield.

"Great." Smokescreen sighed, annoyed as he activated the windshield-wipers. "I really hate this planet, sometimes... Um, Neptune? What are you doing?"

"N-nothing." Neptune hugged his knees to his chest, curled up in the chair with wide eyes. "Everything's fine... It can't get me in here, can it?"

"... What?"

"Trust me." Sun popped up from the backseat, deadpanning. "You don't want to know."

 ** _/\_** ** _/\_** ** _/\_** ** _/\_**

Penny hummed merrily as she skipped down a hallway in Autobot Outpost Omega One, pausing at a large door and knocking a few times.

"Optimus?" She asked. "It has been a few hours since anyone has seen you. Do you wish to come out of your room?" No reply. "I am just as ' _weirded out_ ' by this as you are, but hiding in your room will not solve anything! The only way we get out of this is if we perform enough comedy-segments!"

"... I would rather not leave my room until this is over."

"Okay!" Penny smiled, nodding. "I understand! I'm going to try and speak with Ratchet, now!" Penny went to the next door and knocked. "Ratchet? Do you wish to leave your room? Nora has some wonderful ideas for comedy segments!" There was no answer, and Penny slowly opened the door, her optics narrowed. "Ratchet..?" Penny eeped in surprise and barely ducked in time to avoid a flying wrench, covering the back of her head with her hands as she laid stomach-down on the floor, her optics closed. "I-I'll take that as a _no_."

 ** _/\_** ** _/\_** ** _/\_** ** _/\_**

Nora and Ren stood in the training room at Autobot Outpost Omega One, in the middle of telling a story.

"There we were, in the middle of the night-!"

"It was day."

"We were surrounded by Ursai-!"

"They were Beowolves."

"DOZENS OF THEM!"

"Two of them."

"But Ren and I were no match, and we took them down! And we made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa-skin rugs!"

"Suh-weet!" A Chibi-Miko pumped her fist, sitting on the floor with a Chibi-Raf and a Chibi-Jack. She had obviously only been listening to Nora's side of the story. The boys had both had raised eyebrows, and they looked at Ren.

"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a year, now."

"Aw, Ren!" Nora pouted, crossing her arms. "You're no fun!" Nora looked up at something, smiling. "What did you think, Bulk?!"

"I liked Nora's side of the story, better." A voice replied, off-screen. Nora smirked, crossing her arms and looking over at Ren cockily.

"See?!"

 ** _/\_** ** _/\_** ** _/\_** ** _/\_**

A Chibi- _Nemesis_ flew through the clouds, shouting coming from inside.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

"WHY DO WE LOOK SO CUTE?!

"THAT'S IT! I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS!"

Dozens of tiny black specks fall off of the ship and plummet out of sight.

 ** _/\_**

Inside the _Nemesis_ , a Chibi-Knockout walks up to a Chibi-Megatron with his back turned.

"I'm afraid that I have some bad news, Lord Megatron." The medic reported. "We have lost half of our drones. They saw themselves in the mirror and could not take what was happening to them."

"Grrr..." Megatron growled in rage. "This must be the most diabolical plot that the Autobots have ever conjured. I did not know that Optimus Prime had it in him."

"Um... Lord Megatron?" Knockout asked. "Are you alright? You've been staring out that window for quite some time."

"... I would rather not turn around."

"Lord Megatron, we all look terrible. It is nothing to be embarrassed of-"

"I AM NOT EMBARASSED!"

"Okay, okay!"

 ** _/\_** ** _/\_** ** _/\_** ** _/\_**

A Chibi-Arcee deadpanned, crossing her arms and looking down at her chubby Chibi-self with distaste.

"This is unnatural and humiliating." She announced coldly. A Chibi-Bumblebee buzzed a few times. "Of course you don't mind it! You barely changed! You just got shorter, a little bit wider, and bigger optics!"

"Yeah!" Chibi-Smokescreen crossed his arms. "Optimus and Ratchet still won't come out of their rooms! And even the 'Cons are too embarrassed to show their faces!"

"And Wheeljack completely dropped out of contact." Chibi-Bulkhead added. "I guess some 'bots are just too worried about their reputation."

"I hate everything." Arcee scowled, then raised an optic-brow as Chibi-Neo walked past, whistling merrily. "Aren't you supposed to be in a coma?" Neo turned to the Autobots, blinking both of her eyes to pink and smiling deviously.

"This isn't exactly canon, 'Cee." Neo teased, and the Autobots' jaws dropped in surprise. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go help the others with their comedy-segments!"

Neo skipped off, leaving the Autobots staring... Bumblebee raised a fist and cleared his throat, looking around at the others.

"I wasn't the only one who heard that, right?"

 ** _BEEP!_**

 _This is the way we want to spend every day,_

 _laughing with our friends and keeping sadness away!_

 _Join us and see, we can be happy and free!_

 _Life is full of because we're all Chibi!_

 _ **HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You asked for it, and I delivered!** Lost Penny **Chibi! The new chapter should be out soon, but I really hope that you enjoyed this! I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!**_


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